Treks of Danger and Fate
by Nova Alexandria
Summary: When Konoha falls, Shikamaru and Temari attempt to lead their band of escapees to Suna while being hunted. Kurenai must find a way to protect the children who were left behind. Full cast. All POV's. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Common Japanese Terms used:

Ile: No

Hai: Yes

Suna: Sand

Oi: Hey

chan: affix for female friend or young child

kun: affix for male friend

sama: affix for lord or lady or someone of high rank deserving respect

bachan: affix for grandmother or grandmotherly figure.

San: affix for mister or misses

Hime: Princess

Nani: What

Chakra: spiritual power used to perform jutsu's

Baka: Fool, Idiot

Gomen: Sorry

Arigato: Thankyou

Chapter 1

The Fall of Konoha

Lunch was not called fast enough as far as he was concerned. They had been sitting in the over stuffy office of the fifth Hokage, Tsunade-hime, since they had returned from their rescue mission late the night before. He was tired, still injured, and totally out of chakra.

"_Tsh, how troublesome. Least Godaime-sama could do is let us have an hour or so of rest after getting back."_ Shikamaru thought to himself.

"I swear that woman is the devil incarnated. Oi, Shikamaru-kun." Called one of his teammates.

And yet another headache he was suffering from materialized next to him.

"Hai." He agreed in a tired, strained voice.

Temari of Suna, representative of Suna in Konoha joined him. She and her brother, Kankurou, had gone with Naruto, Neji, Kiba, and himself to rescue Gaara, now Kazekage, from Akatsuki. Granted his team had been decided for him by the flow of battle, but he didn't dwell on that.

It had taken them six months to track down Akatsuki's base where they were holding Gaara. The only reason they had succeeded was because Naruto had acted as bait while Kiba and Akamaru tracked them back to base by scent. Shikamaru would have sooner used Shino and his bugs, but Shino was on a mission with his dad, again, and hadn't shown up to help in the first place. Hyuuga Neji had kept a lookout with his byakugan for traps and ambushes and was sometimes able to find the trail when Akamaru and Kiba lost it.

It had been a big risk letting Akatsuki take Naruto, but the mission had been a success, primarily because Akatsuki hadn't expected Naruto to walk into their trap with a plan and backup. Over react and jump into the fire headfirst was exactly what one expected from Naruto. For a team of Jounin to be with him as back up with a plan of attack was unexpected.

Naruto, however, summed it up when he stated the only reason they had succeeded was because only two, weaker, by weak that meant it took all of them defeat them and still manage to get out alive, members of Akatsuki had been left to guard Gaara; who had been held in a room covered in seals, strapped to a table, also covered in seals, and kept drugged.

Naruto had been treated the same upon arrival. Unfortunately for the bakas left in charge of the two youkai possessed boys, Kyuubi healed him quickly and he had to actually pretend to be unconscious while they strapped him down and sealed him.

Shikamaru and the others had found the base later in the day and waited until dusk before making their move as planned.

Neji had used his byakugan to study the set up of the base first. Temari had taken the lead with Kankurou beside her. She took care of any projectile traps with her fan, and Kankurou had Karasu "walk" in the lead to trigger any traps they might have come across that were set on the ground.

Dealing with the two guards left at Naruto and Gaara's cell was pathetically easy. One _kagemane no jutsu_ followed up by Neji sealing their _Tenketsu_ points later, both guards were dealt with. It was a good thing the men hired to guard them were bakas because after dealing with the two Akatsuki members they had all but no chakra left. Suna rescued their Kazekage while Konoha rescued Naruto.

Since Kiba and Akamaru had picked up the scents of several unaccounted for people, most likely more hired guards but it was safer to assume they were other members of Akatsuki, they left quickly, heading back to Konoha as a group with all speed. Gaara had been carried by his brother until he had recovered enough to travel on his own.

It was strange, thinking of Gaara as Kazekage. Still, he would sooner deal with Gaara then Gaara's sister, who seemed to have developed a stalking problem since he had beaten her three years ago. What was worse was that Naruto, Tsunade-hime, Ino and others seemed to be encouraging her.

"It would do wonders for foreign relations with Suna if the Kazekage's sister, and current representative of Suna, were to marry into Konoha." Tsunade had said one day to him, winking.

He had shuddered and left as fast as possible. There was a law forbidding force marriage, right? Maybe he should take a look to be on the safe side. If the Hyuuga family could get away with their controlling curse seals, forced marriages were sure to be overlooked.

"Hello. Konoha to Shikamaru-kun." Temari stated, waving her hand in front of his face. "Anyone home?" She asked.

"Ile." He answered.

"Envying the clouds again?" She asked with a slight grin.

"Ile." He answered.

"Oi, Shikamaru-kun, Temari-chan." Naruto called as he joined them.

"Oi, Naruto." Temari greeted warmly.

"_Why can't she just chase Naruto instead?"_ He wondered idly.

Temari and Kankurou had both accepted Naruto into their 'family' after he had helped heal Gaara during the first Chuunin Exam.They understood Naruto and were the first to accept him openly when they found out about Kyuubi six months ago when Naruto had been forced to revile it to explain why Akatsuki was after him. Although Temari, Kankurou and Gaara hadn't seemed surprised and Shikamaru wouldn't be surprised to find out they had known earlier.

He had suspected something about Naruto, and while he had been surprised to learn of Kyuubi's existence within Naruto, it had hardly changed his opinion of the hyperactive blond. Neji also hadn't seemed overly surprised. In fact it almost seemed as if an unasked question had been answered for the Hyuuga prodigy. Neji had later explained that he had seen the outline of Kyuubi when he had fought Naruto during the first Chuunin Exam with his byakugan.

"How are your friends doing?" Temari asked, breaking his chain of thought.

Naruto laughed as he answered. "Great. Tsunade-bachan looked at them during the break and confirmed they will be fine in a couple of days with some rest."

The trip home had not been uneventful. Akatsuki had hounded them to exhaustion and there had been times when they'd had to fight free. Neji and Temari had been able to counter most of the Shiruken and Kunai barrages with their respective abilities. He had been able to use _Kagemane no Jutsu_ on most of them. Naruto's _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ certainly evened the odds.

Kiba, Akamaru and Neji were usually able to warn them in advance of attacks until Neji had run so low on Chakra that he had to only use the byakugan when battle broke out. The enemy soon started to hide their scent as well. The members of Akatsuki were no fools, comprised of some of the strongest Shinobi in the world.

They had made it to Konoha exhausted, empty of Chakra, and covered in various wounds without having slept or rested in three days. Gaara hadn't recovered his Chakra at all until Jiraya took the seal off of him when the white haired Sannin had meet them at the gates.

In short, the entire mission had been very troublesome. Naruto, Kiba, Neji, and, he hated to admit it, but Temari had been easy to deploy. The first three he had worked with before and the last fit into their group so well it was sickening. Kankurou was the hard one to deal with. He had no real idea how to utilize Kankurou's _Kugutsu no Jutsu_, a style best used for long-range combat and assassinations. It was hard to control a puppet, let alone three of them, when you were running for your life.

With Gaara sealed, they had been unable to utilize any of Gaara's abilities, which had made things very troublesome. The _Suna no Tate_ would have been a wonderful asset. Any of Gaara's abilities would have been nice, but Kami wasn't that nice to him. Temari was living proof of that.

"How much longer is Godaime-sama going to keep us locked in there?" Kiba asked tiredly as he joined them.

"Until she is finished interrogating us I would presume." Shikamaru answered with a yawn.

He was at the very end of his leg.

"Lunch is over." Came a shout from the door leading to the meeting room they had been in but fifteen minutes ago.

"Kill me now." Naruto groaned.

"Then kill me." Kiba added.

Akamaru bark groaned in agreement from Kiba's side, having grown in the last three years. He was now up to Kiba's waist. Unlike them, Akamaru had been able to sleep most of the night away at Kiba's feet.

They made there way back inside to the torture that awaited them.

"We were lucky to make it back at all, weren't we?" Kiba asked Naruto quietly, absently clutching his side where a deep gash was. Tsunade had treated it, but it looked like the stitches had come out and Kiba was starting to bleed again.

"Hai. If Itachi and Kisame had been there, it would have been a massacre." Naruto confirmed quietly.

None of the others had meet Sasuke's older brother, and only Neji had met his freaked out looking companion. It was pure luck they had not been there, since last he heard it was Itachi's mission to bring Naruto in and they had been warned they may have to fight the Sharingan user and his chakra eating, sword wielding companion.

Sighing and resigning himself for several more hours of hell on earth, Shikamaru followed Naruto and Kiba back in. Temari walked next to him, too close for his comfort. Kankurou was still seated next to Gaara, who also hadn't moved and probably hadn't stopped talking to Tsunade.

Neji also hadn't moved. He had taken several hits from Kunai and Shiruken's after he had run too low on chakra to use his _Hakke Shou Kaiten_, or _Kaiten_ for short. Temari had then been pushed even further to prove her mettle against projectiles threats, her fan being the only defense they had left.

"_And once again I get out with nothing more then a few scratches and no chakra."_ He thought with a sigh.

Well, Temari had gotten out primarily uninjured, if not scuffed up and also out of chakra. Gaara was wound free, a gift of being wanted captured alive. Naruto healed quickly. Kiba, Kankurou and Neji took the brunt of the damage. Kiba was injured because he kept covering Gaara, Kankurou because he had no good defenses at close combat, and Neji because Akatsuki had target him until he ran too low on chakra to defend himself and he had taken a deflected _Gatsuuga_.

He sat back down next to Temari, absently wondering who had thought up that seating arrangement anyway? It was difficult to concentrate when Temari kept throwing glances his way when she wasn't staring at Gaara in worry.

Tsunade-hime started the meeting up again and he forced himself to remain awake and go through the mission one more time.

(break)

"_Clouds are nice. They are free to float across the sky and don't have to answer questions to overly demanding woman who are more troublesome then anything else in existence."_

Twenty-four hours had passed since they had returned to Konoha. Ninety-six hours had passed since they had last had a chance to even rest a little.

Kiba was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, no doubt asleep. He was covered in various cuts and bruises and the gash on his stomach had finally stopped bleeding after Tsunade had stitched it up again.

Neji was lying down on his back on a bench, eyes shut and most likely sleeping. Shikamaru was worried to notice that Neji's breathing was labored, no doubt from the broken ribs that Tsunade had healed upon their arrival. One of their foes had deflected Kiba's _gatsuuga_ right into Neji and he took it full force. Shikamaru had to carry the Hyuuga genius back to Konoha after that while Kiba and Akamaru defended them while still trying to defend Gaara with Naruto and Temari's help.

"Tsunade-bachan, I think it is far overdue for us to get some rest. Gaara may be able to stay awake forever and Kyuubi's chakra keeps me running, but Neji and Kiba really should get to the hospitable and Kankurou-kun and Temari-chan could really use a rest." Naruto stated.

"_Oi, what about me?"_ Shikamaru mentally shouted.

"You are right Naruto. Genma, Raido, escort Neji-kun and Kiba-kun to the hospitable and please show Kankurou-san and Temari-san to their quarters." Both Jounin appeared as their names were called.

Genma, with needle in his mouth as always, took Neji, who remained blissfully unconscious. Kiba limped alone with Akamaru by his side. Raido showed Temari and Kankurou out, leaving Shikamaru alone with Gaara, Naruto, and Tsunade.

"_Do those two live outside of the Hokage's door or something?"_ Shikamaru wondered, trying to shake a mental image of Genma and Raido in PJ's sleeping in sleeping bags outside of the Hokage's office door at night.

"Shikamaru-kun, perhaps you should retire as well." Tsunade offered.

"_Finally."_ He though relieved.

"After completely filling out your report and handing it in of course." She added with a smile.

"_I hate women. I hate my life. What ever convinced me to be a shinobi?"_ He wondered as he left, looking for any sign of sleeping bags as he did so. Was that a hint of fabric peeking out of that closet?

He barely made it to his apartment before collapsing on his bed, just as the sun came over the horizon to land on his face and the birds welcomed the new day with gusto. Yep, Kami was definitely out to get him.

(break)

Naruto, Gaara, and Tsunade retired shortly after. Naruto went back to his apartment to rest. Tsunade, Hokage to Kazekage, personally escorted Gaara to his quarters, the finest in town, before also retiring.

The news had not been good. She already sent her patrols out scouting and securing the boarders and messengers had been sent to Suna to let them know that their Kazekage was safe and sound and would be returning in a week. Gaara refused to leave until after Kankurou and Temari had ample time to rest and recover, and he wished to personally thank Konoha for its assistance.

Akatsuki was on the move, and right now Konoha was in their sights as long as they held both Naruto and Gaara, or more accurately, Kyuubi and Shukaku. Orochimaru had already proven that a small, well-organized force with a giant three-headed snake and knowledge of the terrain could do a lot of damage.

Akatsuki was no small threat and they had the advantage of knowing the terrain they would be fighting on, compliments of Itachi, former Konoha Shinobi and ANBU member, now missing-nin and member of Akatsuki.

She sighed as she closed the door to her house, shutting out the sounds of the early morning birds and the light from the rising sun. It was going to be a long day all right.

(break)

Gaara made an astonishing Kazekage. Naruto was proud of him and could hardly wait to take his place as Hokage when Tsunade final decides to retire. Relations between the two countries would never be stronger then, especially if Shikamaru broke down and got together with Temari.

His apartment was clean and fresh instant ramen was in the cupboard. That meant but one thing, Hinata had come by while he was gone on his mission and cleaned up. Bless her heart.

He had giving up on Sakura when he got back after training with Jiraya for two and a half years. He dumped one hopeless situation for another. Hinata was the heir of one of Konoha's most prestige and powerful families. Getting an approval to marry her from Hyuuga Hiashi was a very unlikely proposition.

Naruto had no power or wealth family wise to speak off, and most adults still resented him for carrying the Kyuubi, and many of the children to. However, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Sakura, Temari, Gaara, Kankurou Konohamaru, and others couldn't care less that he held Kyuubi.

And of course, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Genma, Raido, Asuma, Iruka, Tsunade, Ebisu, Jiraiya, Anko, Ibiki, and others have learned to see him for him and he was glad that they didn't treat him with contempt. He had no idea where Hyuuga Hiashi stood, but he hadn't refused Hinata the right to associate with him as far as he knew so it couldn't be too bad.

Naruto boiled water in anticipation of a hearty meal of his favorite thing in the world, Ramen, when a familiar bird cry was sent into the air, destroying the peaceful morning. Cursing, he bolted out of the apartment, bumping into a startled Hinata as he did so.

"Naruto-kun." She gasped in surprise.

"Get to the hospital and wait for me there." Naruto ordered as he ran passed her.

"Hai." She said firmly as she ran to the hospital, already mentally going over her knowledge of healing.

Naruto rushed forward, and ran into Sakura next in his mad dash to the village center.

"Sakura-chan, what's going on?"

"A full scale attack." Sakura answered. "They are already in the walls. We are to get the children and injured out ASAP and then guard them." Sakura reported.

"Alright. Get to the hospital and meet up with Hinata-chan there and start the evacuation. I will head to the school and meet up with Iruka-sensei and meet you with the rest of the kids." He ordered.

"Hai." She agreed as she ran off.

Naruto raced to the school, stopping only to fight those few enemies he met.

"_Shit, they are already this far into the village, this is bad. Very bad."_ Naruto noted as he made it to the school to see Iruka and several other Jounin and Chuunin defending a group of huddled children. Konohamaru and his two sidekicks were also there, wearing their brand new forehead protectors and looking very scared.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_." Naruto shouted as his shadow clones joined the fight and made a defensive wall around the children.

"Naruto." Iruka shouted as he arrived.

"I am here to get everyone out." Naruto reported. "Follow me."

They moved the kids along in an orderly fashion, Naruto's clones acting as forward scouts and field levelers as they were suddenly surprisingly out numbered by the enemy. The moving was slow and finally crawled to a stop when they were cornered against a building, Shiruken and Kunai raining down from the skies.

It took all of his skills to deflect the projectile weapons from the children, who huddled in fear behind him and Iruka, who was only still standing because Naruto continued to defend him. The other Jounin and Chuunin had already been felled by mere scratches.

"They're poisoned." Iruka warned.

"Hai. I know." Naruto snapped in irritation.

The storm let up for a moment, before coming back full bore. He had no way to block them all.

"_Is this the end?"_ He wondered briefly.

He watched the Kunai come closer, body tense as he waited to deflect as many as possible before going down. He felt a familiar sense of chakra approach and allowed his body to relax. It would be over very soon.

He was the only one who didn't gasp when a wall of suna erupted before them, blocking the attack and shielding them from further assault.

"You're late." Naruto commented calmly as Gaara appeared beside him.

"Kazekage-sama." Iruka gasped.

The children looked up to him with a mixture of fear and awe. Gaara ignored them as he addressed Naruto.

"What is your plan?" Gaara asked calmly.

"We have to meet up with Sakura-chan at the hospital and get the children and wounded out of the war zone." Naruto answered as they started forward again, Gaara covered them with his _Suna no Tate,_ allowing them to move a lot faster. "Where are Temari-chan and Kankurou-kun?" Naruto asked.

"Hokage-sama asked them to round up some of your Shinobi to meet up with you guys at the cliff face." Gaara answered.

"Who is invading? I have seen several different headbands from different villages, all scratched out, and many invaders that look like normal thugs and bandits." Iruka questioned.

"Akatsuki." Gaara and Naruto answered at once, a hint of steel in their voices.

"Akatsuki?" Iruka gasped.

"Hai." Naruto answered.

(break)

"It is a conspiracy. I swear it." Shikamaru groaned as the watcher bird sounded the imminent invasion alarm just as he was about to finally fall asleep.

Jumping out of bed in a very lethargic way, Shikamaru made his way unsteadily to the door and pulled it open, receiving a punch to the face as he did so.

"Owe." He complained.

"Gomen, Shikamaru-kun." Temari gasped, having been just about to pound on his door.

Was it too late to crawl back into bed and pretend he was dead? Probably. Unfortunately it was his duty as a man to protect a woman, and Temari was a woman, even if she was a very troublesome one.

"Tsunade-sama has ordered us to find Choji, Shino, and Ino, and then to meet up with Sakura and Hinata at the cliff face to get the children and injured out of the war zone." Temari explained as she grabbed his hand and started running down the street. "We are to guard them until the village can be reclaimed and deemed safe. Kankurou is looking for Lee and Tenten and will join us there." Temari finished.

"_Evacuation? Was it that bad already?"_ He thought as he instantly snapped awake, gaining his feet and running next to Temari, who released her grip on his hand and placed it on her fan so she could draw it quickly if need be. "Ino and Choji should be at Choji's favorite restaurant at this time." He stated, turning left and running down an ally.

Kunai rained from the sky around them, but he ignored them. One sweep from Temari's fan sent the Kunai right back at those who had thrown them.

"_Missing rain, Missing grass, Oto?"_ Shikamaru noted as they ran passed them. _"Is this Orochimaru's doing? Wait, what's that?"_

Shikamaru caught sight of a figure standing on a sign off to the side wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it.

"_Akatsuki! What is going on here? I thought Orochimaru left that organization years ago. Are they working together again? Is Sasuke here too?"_ He wondered as they turned again.

He smirked as he caught sight of the destruction ahead, clearly Choji's work. Ino was cheering him on from the background. Temari and he ran into the clearing, noticing the scattering of shinobi and common bandits littering the ground.

"Ino, Choji, let's move." He shouted as he and Temari ran past them.

"Shikamaru-kun." Ino shouted in joy as she joined him, followed shortly by Choji as they raced towards Shino's home. "What is going on?" She demanded.

Temari explained the situation while Shikamaru sent his exhausted mind whirling with possibilities and potential plans. It had been really overworked and the adrenalin pumping through his system at the moment wasn't strong enough to clear his mind to think overly much.

"Shino is at the hospital to see Kiba." Choji reported. "I saw him this morning."

"_Finally, something is going right."_ Shikamaru smirked as they ran towards the hospital, stopping only to fight off those few who intervened.

Citizens and Konoha shinobi littered the streets, kunai and needles sticking out of several of them, though in low numbers.

"_Poison, most likely a strong sleep or paralyses draught."_ His analytical mind figured. _"But why? Akatsuki tends to avoid open conflict, preferring to work from the shadows. Do they plan on capturing Konoha?"_

His blood ran cold at that thought. He looked up and saw another member of Akatsuki watching from on top of a building. He couldn't tell who it was, but that didn't really matter. It was clear they were looking for someone.

"_Naruto! Do they plan on capturing Konoha to lure him and Gaara out? Or worse, do they plan on holding Konoha over Naruto to get him to do what they want?"_ That thought frightened him the most. Sometimes it was very troublesome having such an analytical mind.

"There." Temari shouted as they made it to the hospital.

Shino was out side with Gaara, Kankurou, Lee, Tenten, Iruka and Naruto guarding the hospital. Several defeated Shinobi and bandits lay in heaps around them. Naruto waved to them as they caught up.

"Oi, Shikamaru-kun, what took so long?" Naruto hailed.

"_How can he still have energy left?"_ Shikamaru thought in amazement. "What's the situation?" Shikamaru demanded.

"We are to pick up Kiba and Neji, then get to safety with Iruka-sensei's class." Naruto answered.

"What of the other injured?" Ino asked.

"Asuma-sensei, Anko-san and Kurenai-Sensei are taking the wounded adults and as many non-combatants as possible to the southern escape tunnels. We are to take the Eastern tunnels with our charges." Naruto reported just as Sakura came out of the hospital, loaded down with medical supplies.

Hinata was by her side, supporting a weak Kiba. Konohamaru and his team of eight other Genin, fresh from the academy, had most of the frightened children under control, all of whom were also carrying some supplies. Sakura was clearly planning for a long invasion, and Shikamaru was inclined to agree it was going to be one. Neji came out last, still unconscious and being carried by Genma.

"Is Neji alright?" Shikamaru asked.

"He is badly injured. I have him heavily sedated until we can get to a secured location. Otherwise he will just try to help fight and get himself even more messed up." Sakura answered as they set out, Gaara defending them with his _Suna no Tate_.

They moved as fast as they dared, the sounds of combat growing louder and more persistent. The number of interferences increased as they made their way to Hokage Mountain.

Tenten's own weapons, Gaara's sand, or Temari's fan deflected projectile threats. Those who rushed them were dealt with by Shikamaru's _Kagemane no jutsu_, followed by Ino, Choji, Naruto, Kankurou, Iruka, Shino and Sakura dealing with them. Lee was all over the formation, his amazing speed letting him cover a fair chunk of it.

"We are almost there." Sakura shouted back from the lead.

"When we get there, don't stop. Keep on going through until we come out the other side." Shikamaru ordered from his place in the center.

"Nani?" Ino questioned.

"We are losing. All we have seen are defeated citizen and defenders and healthy enemies. They must have slipped in during the night and started their attack then. Konoha is lost. We need to get away before we fall into the trap as well." Shikamaru explained.

"Right." Temari agreed. "We will head west to Suna and regroup there before returning with a counter force."

"But…" Ino protested

"Shikamaru-kun is right." Naruto cursed from his place in the lead. "We need to regroup and half of us are in no condition to fight right now, especially when we have to guard the children and the injured."

"Ano, when did Naruto get so smart?" Tenten asked Sakura.

"He's been like that since he came back with Jiraiya-sama six months ago." Sakura answered.

Naruto had matured considerably over the last three years. Granted he was still as hyperactive as ever, but that energy was far more closely chained by common sense and intelligence now.

The caves came into sight and they quickly ushered their charges through, Naruto falling back to take up the rear with Lee and Gaara while Sakura and Iruka led them deeper into the caves.

"Can you put up a Suna wall that will last? Something to give us a good head start?" Shikamaru asked after the last person entered the cave.

"Hai." Gaara agreed as a wall of suna covered the entrance.

"Let's move, full speed ahead. The way ahead must be clear and we should put as much distance between them and us as possible." Naruto ordered.

There was no argument as they picked up the speed, the older kids carrying the few younger who were too tired or afraid to move fast. They ran at an even pace they could keep up for hours.

Hinata and Henabi took the lead, their byakugan fully activated and scanning ahead for danger. Sakura supported a limping Kiba, Akamaru running by their sides. Ino, Choji, Shino, Kankurou, Tenten and Iruka ran scattered through the children, each of them carrying a child too tired or frightened to run on their own. Naruto, Gaara, Lee, Shikamaru, and Temari covered their rear, picking up and helping stranglers. Genma still carried Neji.

The caves were cool and dark, they way light only by the flashlights carried by Iruka, Sakura, and Shino. Naruto could see fine with Kyuubi's help, as could Hinata and Henabi with their byakugan.

"The Suna Wall is down." Gaara stated a half hour later.

"Destroyed or loss of control?" Shikamaru asked.

"Destroyed. Someone strong." Gaara stated calmly.

"Hinata-chan, Henabi-chan, pick up the speed." Naruto shouted to the lead.

"Are we almost out of the tunnels?" Temari asked.

"Hai. I can smell fresh air." Kiba reported.

A few minutes later the tunnel lit up ahead of them, the clear light of daylight streaming in. They picked up the pace and tore into the sun light, changing their line up again to match the new terrain at Shikamaru's orders.

(break)

They were out number and out matched. They had no chance and they knew it. Was it fate or just pure luck that they had met this obstacle? In the end it did not matter. The civilians they had been guarding ran forward with Mitarashi Anko while they stayed behind to give them as much of a head start as they could.

"Last time we never got to finish playing. This time I will finish you." Kisame grinned at them.

Yuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma stood their ground, falling into a fighting stance. Kisame grinned as he drew Samehada.

"Do not kill them, just subdue them." Came a calm voice from off to the side.

Both former teachers snapped their heads around to look at Kisame's partner with dread.

"Uchiha Itachi." Kurenai hissed.

Itachi inclined his head slightly to acknowledge her claim.

"What does Akatsuki want with Konoha?" Asuma demanded.

"The kitsune brat and the sand freak." Kisame answered.

"Kazekage-sama?" Kurenai asked confused. "I think your brain must be frozen fish sticks, because Kazekage-sama isn't here. Last I heard you guys had him."

"Gaara was rescued by Naruto and a group of his friends. They returned late the night before." Itachi explained calmly as he joined Kisame.

Kurenai and Asuma took a step back. Last time they had met they had been thoroughly and utterly defeated, and that was with Hatake Kakashi with them as back up. Meito Gai had saved them at the last minute, and since Gai was at the other end of the village trying to get another group of children and civilians out it was very unlikely he would show up to save them again. If Kisame had been alone they might have stood a chance, but Itachi was in a league of his own.

"What are you planning?" Asuma demanded.

"Merely to capture Konoha to draw out Naruto and Gaara. The village is already under our control with only minor groups of resistance. Surrender. I do not wish to waste energy killing you." Itachi stated calmly.

Both of them concentrated harder, tightening their stance.

"We can't let you past." Asuma stated.

"There is no point in guarding a dead route. To do so is pointless." Itachi stated.

"Nani?" Kurenai asked shocked.

In answer, another member of Akatsuki arrived and flung Anko's unconscious body to land at their feet.

"The group has been dealt with, yeah." The unknown person stated cheerfully before disappearing.

"Anko!" Kurenai shouted as she ran forward to check her friend's pulse.

It was normal. She was merely asleep, most likely due to poison judging by the scratches and imbedded Needles. Most of the fallen shinobi and citizens they had seen had been affected such. Clearly Akatsuki wanted Konoha intact with minimal damage.

"It's just a sleep inducing poison." Kurenai reported.

"And if we surrender?" Asuma asked, his attention not wavering from the two men.

"Shinobi will be imprisoned, civilians will be left to go about their business. Anyone found attempting to leave the village will be killed." Itachi stated.

"Please resist." Kisame all but begged.

Kurenai and Asuma shared a look. They stood no chance against Itachi. Konoha was lost, but Naruto's group must have gotten out or Akatsuki would have killed them already. Fighting would only get them killed or severely disabled and would result in the being unable to strike back when the time was right. With a shared nod, they dropped their guard to indicate their surrender.

"Damn." Kisame groaned. "I want to shred something. Do they need all their limbs Itachi-san?"

Itachi merely looked at Kisame before disappearing.

"Double damn." Kisame growled.

Kisame actually looked like his favorite toy had been taken away. Several other men appeared, low-level shinobi who were no doubt mukenin's, judging by their scratched-out headbands.

Kurenai and Asuma didn't fight as they were stripped of their weapons and gear and were restrained. Their writs were tied behind their backs with a rope leading from wrist to belt to prevent getting their arms free. Their ankles were also retrained with a loose rope so they could still walk with ease, but not kick.

Kurenai kept her eyes on Anko the entire time, ignoring what her guards were doing to her. Anko was also restrained and was picked up by one of their prison guards.

They were escorted, not to a secured prison location, but right back to Kurenai's small house, where they were forced to kneel on the floor of her living room to await their caretaker, or so it was explained to them when they asked one of their guards. Anko had been brought elsewhere and Kurenai feared for her friend's safety.

(break)

Tsunade covered the retreat of Gai and another small group of children and wounded adults. Several defeated foes spoke of her defensive nature. The group was long since in the tunnels with the path destroyed so the enemy could not follow. Off in the distance she spotted Jiraiya's handiwork in the form of a giant frog, covering the retreat of another group of children and wounded led by Kakashi and Rin.

The attack had come as a surprise. By the time anyone noticed they were under attack, half the village had already been laid low by the sleeping drug. Konoha was lost, she had no doubt about that, but she would make sure as many innocents would make it out as possible to seek refuge where they may.

She had no doubt Shikamaru's charges were already out and free. She was counting on them staging the main counter strike once they made it to Suna and came back with reinforcements. Gaara and Naruto where what Akatsuki was after, as long as they were free, the city was relatively safe. Akatsuki would want their prisoners safe and sound to lure Naruto and Gaara to them.

"Tsunade-hime. You're village has fallen. Why defend it further?"

She knew that voice, and was stunned to hear it.

"Orochimaru." She hissed. " I am surprised to see you working with Akatsuki." She stated coldly.

"We are after different fish in the same barrel." Orochimaru explained.

"Who are you after now?" She demanded coldly.

"The same children who defeated my five warriors three years ago. Such power should be mine." He explained, walking up to her and stopping a few feet away.

"Neji-kun, Kiba-kun, Shikamaru-kun, Choji-kun, Temari-san, Lee-kun and Kankurou-san." She stated under her breath. Akatsuki already had claims on Naruto and Gaara.

"Close." Orochimaru chuckled. "I want Neji-kun, Shikamaru-kun, and Temari-chan. The others mean nothing to me." Orochimaru corrected.

"What make you think I would let you have them?" She demanded.

"What make you think you have a choice, Tsunade-hime?" Orochimaru chuckled.

"Tsh." She snorted as she charged him.

Orochimaru chuckled as he side stepped Tsunade's swings, merely turning his body left, then right over and over again until her fist collided with a house, bringing the entire structure down. She grinned as she jumped back, the rubble collapsing on top of Orochimaru.

"Are you done?"

Tsunade spun around in surprise to face her foe. She spared a glance back to see a slowly dissolving pile of mud.

"Ouch." She snarled as a needle imbedded itself in her arm. She never noticed the shot coming from behind.

She glared at Kabuto as she caught sight of the white haired annoyance. Her vision went blurry. The needle had been poisoned.

"I am disappointed Tsunade-hime. I though you would have put up a better fight then that for your beloved Konoha. Even Sarutobi-sensei gave me a better fight then that." Orochimaru chilled.

Orochimaru went flying into a nearby wall as Tsunade's punch hit his face. The wall collapsed on him, to her satisfaction. Her vision went even blurrier as she felt two more needles embed themselves.

"When I wake up brat, I am going to imbed your four eyed head into the nearest ants nest and drink Sake while I enjoy listening to your scream." She threatened.

Kabuto grinned in amusement at the treat, though in truth he took it very seriously, as she collapsed to the ground, snoring. Orochimaru peeled himself out of the rubble, blood running down his race from various cuts and a broken nose. A large bruise was forming where her fist had connected with his face.

"Bitch." He snarled.

Kabuto had to hold back the wider, true grin that wanted to spread across his face while he concerned himself with sealing her tenketsu points and restraining her. Off in the distance the giant frog exploded in a puff of smoke, the wind whipping out in all directions.

(break)

Meito Gai watched the last of his charges scurry into the safe house in a near by village before rushing back to Konoha, doing everything he could to warp the trail. Tsunade had bought him the time he needed; now it was up to him to make sure his charges were not found.

He made it halfway back to the village before he came upon the enemy. There were twenty of them; an easy fight as far as Gai was concerned.

"Ossu, come on then." Gai shouted gleefully.

The fight was quick; the poor fighters were no match for the taijutsu specialist. Gai was not a quite fighter; his attacks were punctuated by loud shouts and proclamations of the vital spirit of youth. As such, the rest of the teams sent to find their targets and patrolling were easily alerted to his whereabouts, precisely as he wanted.

With the other teams of hunters coming for him, the other escape teams had a higher chance to make it to freedom. He would not last forever, eventually he would get tired out and brought down, but not before he did some serious damage and got most of the others to freedom, or gave them a good head start.

"Gaara." He commented to himself as he faced the wall of suna that blocked their path into the escape tunnels.

"Sir, should we report their escape to Orochimaru-sama?"

"Ile." He responded as he stepped back.

Getting past Gaara's sand was not easy, but he had done it before, three years ago during his first Chuunin exam. He got a fair distance back and started to charge his chakra into his hand.

The chakra was visible and made the sound of thousands of chirping birds. Shouting he rushed forwards towards the shield, shouting as he did so.

"_Chidori_."

The otonins assigned to him watched in shock as Sasuke raced towards the wall of suna and thrust his glowing arm through it. For a moment it looked like he was stuck, then the wall started to fall.

The path was clear before them. The footprints of a large group of people passing through in a clear rush marked the floor. Reports had told him Naruto, Gaara, and others had passed this way before the Suna Wall went up. By the descriptions giving to him he knew that the rookie-nine and Lee's team had passed through, as had Iruka and who he could only guess to be Genma judging by the description. With them were a large group of children and nine Genin.

"Report to Orochimaru-sama. I am going forward alone." Sasuke ordered.

"Is that wise Sasuke-sama?"

Sasuke snapped his gaze to the man who had dared questioned him. The man gulped, then quickly bowed and took off, the others ten men under his command beside him. Now alone, Sasuke ran forward down the tunnel.

"_Naruto_." Sasuke thought to himself as he raced after his one time friend and rival. "_I can't wait to see how far you have come._"

* * *

Well, there's chapter one. This arc of the story is typed up and clocks in at 400+ pages so updates are assured. It will focus mainly on Shikamaru, Temari and Kurenai. As usual I will mark any scenes that involve sexual intercorse so those who do not like to read it can skip it. 


	2. Chapter 2

Some one mentioned I should put a spoiler warning up, so yeah. This takes place six months after Naruto returns from his training with Jeriya (I think I spelt that wrong). Somewhere past the current manga chapters. From this point on the chapters will rotate. One chapter with Kurenai, one with Shikamaru and Temari. I didn't really love this chapter, but it has its moments.

Thanks to rurounigochan, bakusensei, and dragonzair for being the first to review this epic.

Chapter 2

Securing the Target.

Gai and Kakashi joined them kneeling on her floor at some point during the day. Gai was covered in bruises and cuts, but otherwise seemed to be in high spirits. Kakashi was as quiet as ever.

"Mission success." Gai stated cheerfully as he was dropped to the floor beside them sometime around noon.

"Of course." Kurenai groaned to herself. "You didn't have to fight Itachi or Kisame." She scowled.

"Itachi?" Kakashi asked, showing interest for the first time since he had been dropped on the floor next to them sometime in the late morning.

"Hai." Asuma confirmed.

"You don't look injured?" He commented.

"Because we surrendered without a fight." Kurenai stated. "Our mission had already failed when Anko was captured while we squared of with Kisame. No offence Kakashi, but we stand no chance against the Sharingan, and Tsunade-sama would not be able to save us if Itachi used the _Mange Sharingan_ against us."

The conversation was cut short as four men walked in. Only one looked like he wasn't a warrior. He was wearing a simple white robe often associated with medical shinobi and his long, black hair was currently tied back to keep out of his way.

"Her first." The non-fighter stated as he pointed to Kurenai as his deep violet eyes fell upon her.

She felt a twinge of fear run through her as one of the men, a big burly one who looked even stronger then Asuma, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to her feet. She hissed in pain, but didn't cry out.

"Kurenai!" Asuma and Gai shouted in worry, earning them both a kick in the side when they tried to come to her assistance.

"Ile. I'll be alright." She stated, calming the two enraged men down.

In truth she was scared, but she wouldn't let them know that. Both men walked out of the room and up the stairs, the big one pushing her along from behind every once in a while. Her blood ran cold as they opened the door to her room and the big one threw her roughly onto her own bed. Shuddering, she curled up and moved into the corner so she could keep her eye on both of them.

"Leave us." The younger, smaller man ordered calmly, not even paying attention to her as he set a case on her dresser and opened it, pulling out several scrolls and other supplies.

"Keh." The bigger man snorted as he left, closing the door behind him.

"Now then," the other man turned to face her, "let us begin."

"What are you planning on doing?" She demanded with more bravado then she felt.

"Relax my dear, I have no plans of raping you at this point in time, if that is what you fear. I am merely going to seal you tenketsu points so you can't meld Chakra. However, I will require you to be naked and this will take some time. I could do it in front of the others if you wish, but I cannot guarantee they will not try something nor keep their mouths shut. You will need to hold still. If I miss the points, I may kill you." He warned as he approached her.

He took out a pair of handcuffs and tied her down to the bed before drawing a knife and cutting her clothes off. She froze in fear and closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing to help keep calm. Why did she have to have a bed with headboards? When she had been devised of her clothes, she felt her fear amplify.

For several minutes nothing happened, then something soft, cold, and wet touched her skin. Her eyes flew open in shock to see what it was. To her surprise, it was a marker. He was making marks on her body while reading from one of the scroll he had pulled out of his bag.

"Relax." He stated calmly. "This will take some time."

She closed her eyes again and forced herself to relax and to not fidget. She wasn't sure how long she lay there, but the pain of her first tenketsu point sealing jolted her out of her lazy daze with a yelp.

Faster then she could register, his chakra glowing hand hit her again and again until she could no longer even feel her chakra. She held back the other yelps of pain and forced herself to remain still. A miss could kill her and she had no plans of dying yet.

When the man finished sealing her, he let out a few deep breaths to recover from what he had done, than released her before taking something out of his bag and tossing it to her.

"Put that on and do not take it off. If you are found without it, you will be killed. You will not leave this house without an escort or you will be killed. Disobedience will be dealt with the first two times with punishment; the last will result in death. Understand?"

"Hai," She answered as she quickly pulled on the tight fitting white pants and shirt, clearly designed to leave no place to hide anything.

"Repeat it." He commanded.

"Attempts to escape or change my clothing will result in death. Disobedience will be punished the first two times, then death will be dealt."

"Good. Any questions?" He asked.

"What of self defence?"

The man grinned as he answered.

"There should be no need for self defence. You are dismissed. Send up one of your friends, than I suggest you get some rest. You have free reign of the house until further notice."

She didn't argue as she carefully walked out of the room, leaning up against the door as soon as it closed behind her and rubbing her sore Tenketsu points. Without her chakra, she felt half dead and very heavy. Not to mention very vulnerable.

She looked at the window at the end of the hall and briefly thought of jumping through it, but without her chakra she would be lucky to land without breaking something. Doing so would be pointless and she had no doubt there were patrols. If they were sending their medics to seal chakra, Konoha must have fully fallen.

Feeling a sudden urging to hug herself defensively, she forced her arms to remain by her sides as she walked to the stairs and started down them, winching in pain from her sealed points. The men who had walked in were still there.

"Kurenai." Gai and Asuma shouted once they caught sight of her.

"Are you alright?" Asuma demanded.

"Hai." She answered, trying to ignore the leers from other men.

"What did they do?" Asuma demanded as she left the stairwell and walked up to them, slowly and clearly still suffering from residue pain that was slowly starting to fade away.

"He sealed my Tenketsu points." She answered, a hint of depression in her voice.

"It took him two hours to seal you chakra?" Kakashi asked disbelievingly.

"Hai." She answered. "He wants the next one sent up."

One of the men nodded their head as they grabbed Kakashi and dragged him upstairs. Kurenai sat down next to Gai and Asuma to wait. One of their guards went into the kitchen before returning, a scowl on his face.

"Is there no food in this house?" He snarled.

"There is some ramen noodles in the cupboard above the stove, but you have to make the stock." Kurenai answered.

The man looked at her, than grinned.

"Then make some." He commanded.

She glanced at Gai and Asuma, weighing the situation. If she refused, she was in no condition to defend her self from a beating. However, she certainly didn't want to be left alone with any of them.

She would only be in the kitchen. The others would hear any noise, still be able to see her, and there were lots of weapons to defend her self with in there. Everything from knives to boiling water was at her fingertips. She nodded her head as she got up gingerly and walked into the kitchen, the man followed her and leaned against the doorframe, cleaning his nails with a kunai.

She pulled out what she would need and set to work. Her guard didn't even blink when she took the large knife out of the drawer and set to work cutting up vegetables. She felt a little better with a weapon in her hand and allowed herself to fall into a kind of trance as she worked.

When she was done, she served up the dishes and handed them out to everyone. Kakashi was back and wearing the same outfit she was and Asuma was gone. She handed Kakashi his bowl while setting Asuma's aside and feeding Gai, since he was still tied up.

"Why were you faster?" She asked.

"It's easier to seal the Tenketsu points on someone of the same sex." Kakashi explained.

"You get the speech too?"

"Hai. It seems like we are under house arrest until further notice."

"Why?" Gai asked.

"There is no prison large enough in Konoha to hold us all. Besides, we are just live bait for Gaara-sama and Naruto-kun. As long as we keep our heads down, we will be fine and able to do our part when Shikamaru returns with Suna's counter strike." Kakashi explained.

They looked up as Asuma came down the stairs. He joined them on the floor of the living room as Gai was led up. Asuma accepted his bowl from Kurenai. A glance at the clock on her wall told her it was already twenty-one thirty-six.

"Any chance of a cigarette laying around Kurenai?" He asked.

"Ile." She answered coldly.

Asuma sighed longingly before setting into his meal. Gai returned, wearing black as opposed to their white. The moment he came down, most of their guards left, leaving just one standing before them and the one upstairs.

"You, bring Katsu-san some food." The man ordered, pointing to Kurenai.

She nodded her head as she dished out the last of the ramen in the pot and brought it upstairs, hesitating before her own bedroom door, debating on rather she should just walk in or knock first.

"Come in." Katsu ordered, making the question mote.

She opened the door and stepped in. He looked exhausted. She set the bowl down on the dresser.

"Your companions will retreat to the basement for the night."

"I don't have a basement." She interrupted.

"The living room floor than. If you have any spare bedding, I suggest you grab it and bring it down to them." He ordered.

"What of me?" She asked calmly, her heart fluttering in fear.

"You will sleep on the floor here. If we find your friends have escaped during the night, your death will not be a pleasant one, and vice versa. Return when you are done."

She nodded her head in understanding as she left, pulling blankets out of the closet as she went and walked back downstairs to see Gai and Asuma doing dishes under the supervision their other guard.

"If I know it would take the invasion of Konoha to get you to do dishes, I would have sanctioned it ages ago." She grinned, trying to lighten the mood a little.

She walked back into the living room and started to set up three beds. They joined her after the dishes were done.

"Why only three?" Gai asked.

She quickly explained what Katsu had told her before returning up the stairs.

"Lights out. Silence will be observed." Their guard stated as he followed Kurenai upstairs.

(break)

The three men shared a look.

"Rock, paper, scissors for the couch?" Kakashi asked innocently.

The other two agreed as the stood in a lose circle.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors." They shouted.

"I win." Kakashi stated, grinning at his two dejected cellmates.

"Damn." Asuma grunted.

"Just what I would expect out of my eternal rival, but I will win tomorrow night." Gai shouted.

"Shh." The other two hushed as they crawled into bed.

(break)

Kurenai sighed as she heard the boys shout from the living room. She shuddered as she walked into her room. Katsu had laid out a bed for her on the floor next to the bed, though the man was not there.

She lay down on the blankets on the floor and pulled the blanket over her, absently noticing the handcuff dangling from the leg of the bed. She looked up as Katsu walked in.

"I think you know what to do." He stated without even looking at her as he put his scrolls back in the case on her dresser.

Sighing, she latched the other end of the cuff onto her wrist. Katsu turned the light out and the bed creaked as he climbed into it. The house fell silent. She assumed the other guard was sleeping in her guest room, leaving the three boys unguarded, which explained why she was tied to her own bed in her own room with Katsu sleeping in it. As long as she was here, the others couldn't make a move.

Katsu's breathing evened out quickly, indicating he was asleep. Sealing all of the Tenketsu points on four people had to have exhausted his chakra. She had no doubt he was a medical specialist, or that the rest of the shinobi had been treated as they were.

Without their chakra, there was no way to get over the walls surrounding Konoha, thus escape was impossible. The escape tunnels would have been found and sealed by now, preventing escape that way. They were just as helpless at this point as any regular citizen of Konoha.

(break)

Kurenai awoke to Katsu un-cuffing her from the bed. She pretended to be asleep and ignored him. If he noticed, he didn't call her bluff. He changed into fresh clothes, then left.

The moment he was gone she sat up and stretched. She jumped when he opened the door and popped his head back in.

"Make sure this place is clean when I get back. You are free to roam the house and do as you please, but I advise you don't put a single foot outside. Guards have been posted and anyone not cleared or escorted will be assassinated on the spot, no questions asked. Understand?"

"I am not a child." She answered coldly.

Katsu just grinned as he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone. The first thing she did was rush to the window to look out. She spotted at least two men patrolling the roofs. To her surprise she saw several civilians going about their business, dressed in clothes similar to hers, only blue in color.

She quickly made both beds before leaving and locking herself in the bathroom. The call of nature was making its demand known and she really wanted a shower to get all the marker lines off of her.

Katsu had said never to take the white outfit off, but she doubted he meant for her to wear it in the shower. After making sure there were no hidden camera's, she took a nice, hot, long shower before drying off, brushing out her tangled hair, getting dressed, and heading downstairs where the smell of breakfast was permeating the air.

"Who cooked?" She asked shocked.

"Kakashi did." Asuma answered from the table, where he was finishing off a plate of food. "Rock Paper Scissors for the next shower?"

"Ossu." Gai agreed exuberantly.

She watched in amusement as Kakashi set a plate of food before her before joining in. This time Gai won.

"Ossu. I beat you Kakashi. That makes the score two-hundred and seventy-nine to two-hundred and seventy-eight in my favour." Gai shouted, punching a fist into the air.

"Whatever." Kakashi responded.

"Kawaii. I love that cool attitude of yours." Gai shouted.

"Gai." Kurenai barked.

"Hai." He shouted.

"If you shout in my house one more time I am going to duct tape your mouth shut." She threatened, feeling a headache coming on as Kakashi handed her a cup of tea.

He looked surprised, then grinned at her before bolting upstairs.

"We could throw him out a window and let the guards kill him." Asuma suggested.

"Tempting." Kurenai agreed as she set into the meal Kakashi had cooked.

"So where do we stand?" Kakashi asked.

"We are under house arrest until further notice. Katsu, that's the one I am sure is a medical specialist, wants the place cleaned up by his return, other then that he said we are free to do as we please. My food supply is going to run low fast with six of us eating, I do live alone you know, and hot water is going to be scarce if we all take showers everyday.

"It is a fair bet the sleeping arrangements aren't going to change anytime soon. First, lets clean this place up a little, then take an inventory of what food I have left. We should schedule shower days and assign chores accordingly."

"Not to mention rotating who gets the couch." Asuma added.

Gai came down some time later and Asuma took a shower next while Kurenai and Gai cleaned up breakfast. Kakashi put the bedding away. One nice thing about never being home was that it didn't take long to clean the place. She was never around to get it dirty.

They found some paper and assigned task and days, which they posted on the fridge door. Kurenai made a shopping list intended to feed six. It didn't take long to work everything they would need for immediate survival out. By noon they were done.

Gai was cooking this time when Katsu returned, looking tired out, no doubt having sealed more people today. They silently offered him a plate of food, no point in picking fights yet.

He took it without a word and retreat upstairs. He came back down an hour later and left. Kurenai sighed as she went up to her room to remove the dirty plate. To her horror, she noticed that all of her clothes had been removed from the dresser and piled onto the floor in a corner. The only thing left on her desk that was even hers was the picture of her with Hinata, Kiba and Shino and the picture of her own Genin group when she was a child. Everything else had been tossed in a bag next to her clothes.

An inspection of the drawers showed the top three to be full of clothes and items clearly belonging to Katsu while the bottom drawer had two sets of the white clothes she was wearing, one pair of nightwear, and one of her fancy kimono's she had only worn once to a delegation meeting years ago. She also spotted her small jewellery box and quickly went through it, noticing nothing had gone missing.

"_Why would I need this_?" She wondered as she refolded the fancy kimono.

Sighing, she set to work folding the clothes he had taken out of her drawer and storing them in the closet with the bag of her personal gear. She checked the guest room and noticed the drawers were now full of stuff clearly belonging to the other man. He must have unpacked last night.

Frowning, she went downstairs to see the other guard had returned with three bags and was in the process of giving them to the men before leaving. Each of them, she noticed, had three sets of clothes and one set of nightwear. They had no such fine apparel as her kimono.

She found it strange Akatsuki would carry that much gear with them, but then figured they had probably had pack wagons bringing up the rear. It was clear that they intended to stay for a long time.

Putting the men's clothes in the laundry room next to the washer and dryer, they spent the rest of the day discussing the next move.

"So far they don't seem interested in information or anything." Kakashi stated as they sat around the kitchen table.

"Yeah, but I would not want to be Hiashi-sama right now, or anyone with the byakugan." Asuma stated.

"Nor would I want to be Tsunade-sama. Akatsuki is going to want to know where Naruto and Gaara-sama are." Kurenai added, silently hoping Hinata, Henabi, and Neji had been in a group that had escaped.

They did not need to go through the pains of having the secrets to their bloodline extracted. Hinata and Henabi would most likely be killed to make things easier, but Neji would need to be kept alive or his curse seal would destroy the byakugan. There was no doubt Neji was strong and thus the best source for extracting secrets short of Hiashi.

"Did Hiashi-sama make it out?" Asuma asked.

"I don't know." Kakashi admitted. "Let us hope he did, and as many members of that family as possible."

The byakugan was Konoha's strongest ability and one of the most sought after one in the shinobi world. There was no doubt Akatsuki, and Orochimaru, would let the chance to study it go by.

"The number one task of a shinobi of Konoha is to protect its citizens. Thus far the citizens are being left alone and permitted to go about their daily business. Until this changes we should not stir the ants nest.

"I have no doubt Naruto will make it to Suna, even burdened down with wounded and children. By now they would have sent a runner ahead with news to Suna. Reinforcements will take a month at least to get everything planned out and moving. Unless if the citizens, or we, are threatened, we shall remain obedient." Kakashi spelled it out to them.

"Hai." They agreed.

"Maybe Kurenai-chan can use some of her charm to seduce some information out of Katsu." Kakashi suggest with his usually, eyes closed, sly grin.

"Kakashi." She shouted, grabbing a frying pan from its place hanging on a hook and smacking him up the side of the head with it.

She stormed out of the room and flung open the front door, intending to storm out. She stopped at the last moment. Katsu was just returning and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ano."

Asuma joined her shortly, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her aside to let Katsu walk in.

"Might I ask what you were doing?" Katsu asked as he closed the door behind him.

"She was having a fit." Asuma quickly explained. "When she gets mad she tends to storm out."

Kurenai gave him a look that promised death.

"You will answer with Katsu-sama at the end of sentences addressed to me. Understand?" he stated coldly.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." They both agreed quickly.

"Good. Dinner will be at eighteen hundred every evening, Lunch at twelve hundred, and Breakfast at oh-six-hundred. I trust you can remember that." Katsu walked past them up to his room.

"Bossy, isn't he?" Asuma commented.

Kurenai was leaning up against the front door, breathing deeply. She had been one step away from death, or worse. She was a Jounin for Kami sake. She should have known better. Only Genin made stupid mistakes like that.

"Oi, Kurenai." Asuma called again when she hadn't responded to his first two.

"I'm fine. It's fifteen hundred. We should get started on dinner. He dismissed the transgression this time, best to keep him happy." She stated as she walked past him, stepping over an unconscious Kakashi, eyes still swirling with a concerned Gai hovering over him.

"You know, I kind of like this. On a normal day I would never be able to hit Kakashi with a frying pan." She stated with a chuckle, trying to shake off the feeling of impending doom that had infused itself into her.

Asuma grinned as Gai finally got Kakashi awake again. There wasn't much left to cook for six people, but she made do with what she had. Chicken fried rice was easy and able to feed many. She sourly noticed it used the rest of both ingredients.

Rooting around, she managed to use the rest of the noodles up with some left over pork. Her fridge and cupboards were all but bare. She knew she should have gone shopping a few days ago. She was even out of milk.

Dinner was ready right on time. Their other guard, whose name they had yet to learn, walked in just as she turned the stove off. Come to think of it, they didn't know what hidden village their two guards came from to begin with.

"Take Katsu-sama his dinner." The guard ordered Kurenai once everyone had been served.

Holding back a scowl, she brought the plate upstairs. Did they order her around so much because they thought she was an easy target because she was a girl? She could hardly wait to get them back for this.

She didn't bother to knock as she walked in. Katsu was in the middle of the floor meditating, without his shirt on. She noticed he didn't seem to have any scars whatsoever. This didn't overly surprise her. Medical-nins often didn't go to the front lines.

She set the plate down on the dresser and made to leave, but his voice stopped her.

"Remain." He ordered.

Startled, she froze with her hand on the handle. Did he plan on punishing her for nearly leaving the house? She hoped not. Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma would not be able to help her if he did.

"Come here."

She forced herself to move as she turned to face him. He was sitting at the desk with his back to it, the food still untouched. She moved to stand in front of him. He studied her, a contemplating look on his face.

"Kneel."

She got down onto her knees before him, her fear turning into raging embarrassment and anger.

He studied her for another moment before turning away and starting on his meal.

"Name and rank." He commanded.

She blinked in surprise. Now he decided to interrogate her? She thought briefly of lying, but by now they would have the village records by now so there was no point. Not to mention they had already addressed each other by name.

"Yuhi Kurenai. Jounin." She answered.

"Your companions."

"Hatake Kakashi, Jounin. Meito Gai, Jounin, Sarutobi Asuma, Jounin."

He jolted their names and ranks down on a piece of paper. Then frowned.

"You were a teacher recently. Who were your charges?"

She hesitated. The information would be on encoded records that the enemy most likely already had and were in the process of translating. She did not want to make their job easier. On the other side it was very likely the enemy already knew.

Sasuke knew and had probably already told them. Itachi would have no problem decoding the script. There was no value in lying to hold back information the enemy most likely already knew. Beside, she wanted to get on his good side after her stunt earlier.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Abrume Shino," she hesitated, " and Hyuuga Hinata."

"Current ranks."

"Jounin, Jounin, Chuunin training as a medic."

He jolted down their names and ranks under her name on the paper.

"Kakashi's."

"Uchicha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruna Sakura."

"Rank."

"Makunin, Jounin, Chuunin."

"Asuma's."

"Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji."

"Rank."

"Jounin, Chuunin, Chuunin."

"Gai's."

"Rock Lee, Tenten," once again she hesitate before answering, "and Hyuuga Neji."

"Rank."

"Jounin, Chuunin, Jounin."

He finished jolting down the information, nodding his head as he did so. He set the pen aside and sat in silence, thinking while he finished his meal. She waited, debating on weather or not she had been dismissed or not.

When he finished eating he leaned back, still thinking. She was almost ready to leave when he spoke again.

"All of your students made it out."

She felt a blossoming of hope rise in her chest.

"I thought I had made it clear that no one was to leave the house." He stated.

Her body stiffened in fear. He turned his gaze on her, catching her ruby eyes with his own deep violet. She hadn't really noticed his eyes before other then to note they had been violet. They looked like they could penetrate her very soul and she wondered if the reason his eyes were such a color were due to some bloodline ability like the way Hyuuga eyes were white.

"I detected no lie coming from the one called Asuma, nor have you lied to me here. I will let it pass this time, as you did not technically break a rule. I trust it will not happen again?"

"Ile." She agreed.

He backhanded her, taking her by surprise. She picked herself up from the floor, one hand over her throbbing cheek as she stared at him in shock. Without her chakra, she hadn't even seen the blow coming, hadn't even noticed she had been hit until she was picking herself up from the floor.

"I have already instructed you on how to address me." He stated calmly. "Let us try this again. I trust you will not anger me in the future."

"Ile, Katsu-sama."

"Better. You are dismissed." He waved her away.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

She took his plate, bowed her way out, stormed down the stairs, and attacked the dirty dishes with a vengeance.

"Kurenai…" Gai hazard.

The glare she sent them caused all three men to bolt for the living room while the other guard grinned at her. She turned her back on him and attacked the dishes, working out her anger and frustration.

"Who does that pompous bastard think he is? Katsu-sama my rear-end. If the villagers lives weren't in danger, I would give him a piece of my mind followed by a taste of my most violent genjutsu." She fumed.

Dishes didn't last long so she started wiping down the counters and stove, which quickly turned into dusting.

"When Suna arrives with reinforcements, I am going to make sure he's the first bastard I hunt down. I'll tare his eyes out, no, one of his eyes out and make him watch as it's eating by ravens, no bugs. I'll get Shino-kun to help.

"Then I'll cut open his gut, hang him from a pole over a fish pond, and watch the fish slowly eat them while carving the skin from his body with a dull spoon. I'll shave off all of his hair and make sure it's a scorching hot day so he'll have sunburns where the sun don't shine."

Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and even their guard looked at her with wide eyes as she mumbled her threats under her breath, unaware she was doing so. The men's faces grew more pale as the threats got more gruesome.

"Are you sure she's a teacher?" Their guard asked.

"I thought so." Asuma gapped.

"We should really be recording this for later use." Kakashi commented. "Future interrogators can use it. She would make Ibiki proud."

The other three nodded their heads numbly. A knock at the door startled them, causing them to jump in surprise. Kurenai quit her frantic cleaning and pacing, marched up to the door and flung it open.

"Nani?" She snapped, than paled when she realized whom she had snapped at.

She stepped aside as Itachi walked in.

"Katsu." He stated.

She bolted up the stairs, wondering how her day could get any worse and wanting to get away from Itachi before he decided to use the _Mange Sharingan_ on her as punishment. "Katsu-sama, Itachi is here to see you." She reported as she opened the door.

Katsu looked up at her from the desk. He put his pen down, grabbed a scroll, and walked past her without a word. She stood at the top of the stairs and listened in, or tried to. Eventually Itachi left and Katsu crisply stated that at twenty-two hundred everyone was to be in bed.

She glanced at the clock on her dresser through the opened door and noticed it was ten minutes past. She heard the men start their Rock/Paper/Scissors match for the couch as both guards walked up the stairs and the lights were turned off.

The unknown guard walked past her to the spare room and closed the door. Katsu stopped at the top and glared at her. She gulped as she followed him into their shared room.

"Shut the door." He commanded.

She shut the door behind her and turned to face him. His backhand sent her to the floor.

"Do you have any idea who you insulted?" He snapped at her.

"Itachi is a makunin from this village." She answered through gritted teeth.

Damn she was missing her chakra. A mere slap shouldn't hurt this bad, it should not have even hit.

"You will refer to him as Itachi-sama and should be grateful you are too far beneath his notice to punish you himself. Clearly my earlier warning went unheeded."

A cold wave of fear spread through her body and she started to tremble slightly. Right now she couldn't help but to compare herself to the old Hinata, before Naruto changed her. Timid, frightened, unable to even defend her self. How could the loss of chakra affect her so much?

She forced herself to her feet and kept her arms by her sides, no matter how painful her face was. She would not show any weakness to him. He seemed to strive for it. He looked her up and down, and then grinned.

"So you do have some fire in you when faced with someone stronger. Good. I was starting to think you were nothing more then a noisy mutt who only felt safe to bark when the owner was gone."

She glared at him.

"I am only acknowledging you because I care for the safety of Konoha's citizens." She snapped back.

He raised an eyebrow.

"And just how far, Kurenai-chan, are you willing to go to protect them?" He asked smoothly.

"What do you mean?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"If I told you to kill Gai in exchange for letting ten citizens go free, would you?" He asked.

She struggled with the question. Would she?

"If I ordered you to be a willing slave in your own home, would you?"

"I already am." She shot back, not hesitating on that one.

"Slaves are obedient. You are not." He pointed out.

She didn't have an argument for that statement.

He took a step closer until she was all but pinned between him and the door.

"And if I ordered you to bed me in exchange for the lives of the children your friend Gai managed to get out of Konoha, would you?"

Her breath caught in her throat. Did they know about Gai's mission or are they just fishing. She would not give anything away.

"If bedding," she stumbled over the word, "you was the only way to make sure the children of this village were safe," she closed her eyes and finished, "I would."

Since her eyes were closed, she could not see his grin. He stepped away from her. She opened her eyes and followed his movements as he sprawled out on her bed.

"There were twenty-two children and four adults, if I remember correctly. They have, of course, been rounded up and are currently being held at the school. Would you care to meet them tomorrow as proof?"

Her mouth went dry. Was he bluffing or did he truly mean what he stated? Was he casting for information or challenging her morals. How had he known the exact number?

"I would like to see proof." She answered.

He raised an eye in warning.

"Katsu-sama." She quickly added.

"Very good then. Tomorrow after lunch we will take a visit to the school. Make sure you are presentable."

He got off the bed and proceeded to change in front of her. Horrified, she closed her eyes and waited to hear the creak of the bed before turning the light off at his direction and crawling into her own. Like hell she would change in front of him.

He reached down and attached the cuff to her wrist before bidding her goodnight. Outwards she remained silent while inwards she was fuming and making a list of her most horrendous genjutsus and contemplating on just which order she would use them on him.

* * *

Well, next chapter will be back with the others. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though I think it is one of the worse ones in the story.  



	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

On the Run

They had no time to stop. Patrols were everywhere around them and only Kiba and Akamaru's sense of smell combined with Hinata and Henabi's byakugan kept them ahead and away from the patrols.

Moving a group of this size with any speed was all but impossible without leaving a large trail. The younger children also couldn't keep up a good pace. Finally Gaara created sleds of suna and they loaded the kids, what little they had for gear, and a still unconscious Neji onto those to make better time.

Now that Genma was free of his burden, he ran forward with Lee to try and get a message, personally writing by Gaara, to Suna as fast as possible about the situation Konoha was in. The rest of them moved as fast as possible without exhausting themselves or making too much ruckus.

"We are being followed." Kiba stated late in the evening, quietly enough for the kids not to pick up.

"How many?" Shikamaru asked apprehensively.

"One." Kiba answered, taking a stronger whiff of the air. Akamaru joined him, barking his report to his master.

"Are you sure?" Kiba asked, fear and shock on his face and in his voice.

Akamaru barked a positive response.

"Are there more?" Naruto demanded.

"No, but the one following us, Akamaru is positive it's Sasuke." Kiba reported.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, a hint of fear, pain, and longing in her voice.

Naruto stopped, turned and looked down the path, a determined look on his face. The others also stopped.

"Naruto, what are you thinking?" Shikamaru asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Go on ahead." Naruto ordered.

"Nani!" The others shouted.

"Go. I'll catch up." Naruto ordered calmly as he started to walk back down the path.

"Naruto…" Sakura started.

Naruto turned to look at her. "I made a promise, and I am going to keep it." He smiled at her, thumb up. "Go. I'll catch up." He repeated, serious again.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata stated quietly as Naruto walked away from them with a confident waltz.

"Let's move." Shikamaru snapped, taking everyone by surprise. "If one enemy has found us, others are likely to be behind them."

They set forth again in the formation Shikamaru had set up, their pace quickened.

"Kiba, get up with the children and Neji." Shikamaru ordered.

"I'm fine." Kiba rejected.

"No, you are not. You are leaving a trail of blood."

Kiba looked back down the trail, droplets of blood dotting it where Temari had yet to cover their trail with her wind. His side had ripped open again and he was in blistering agony.

Nodding his head, he joined Neji on a sled of suna controlled by Gaara, checking his fellow Jounin over. Neji was very pale and breathing badly. Tsunade had fixed the broken bones, but she had not healed his bruised lungs or other damaged tissue. No one had expected they would be on the run so soon after getting back with no medical care available to them.

Neji looked worse than he had the evening before when Tsunade had been drilling them. It didn't look like he was healing at all.

"Shikamaru." Kiba called quietly.

Shikamaru joined him instantly.

"Neji is looking worse." He stated.

Shikamaru took a look and silently agreed. Neji was deathly pale and his breathing was very laboured. He was also freezing and burning up at the same time.

"Find anything you can to cover him to keep him warm. I'll get Sakura to look at him." Shikamaru ordered.

Kiba nodded his head as he took his own jacket off and used it to cover Neji. Hinata offered her own jacket, as did Shino. Most of the blankets Sakura had managed to pack into the bags of supplies the kids carried where being used by said kids now that the temperature was dropping and they were getting cold. They were cluster two a blanket as it was.

(break)

Her mind was constantly on Naruto and Sasuke. She couldn't stop the 'what ifs' from running though her brain, no matter what she did to distract herself.

"Sakura." Shikamaru hailed as he fell into step next to her.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Neji is not looking good. He was already wounded badly from before, but he is looking worse. Can you take a look at him and Kiba?"

"Of course." She answered as she fell back and jumped up onto the suna sled without the slightest hint of fear or hesitation.

Neji was looking bad, very bad.

"Situation." She demanded of Kiba, her voice firm and commanding as she took the bag of medical supplies she had been carrying on her back off and started to root through it.

"His ribs were broken when he took one of my deflected _Gatsuuga's_ in the chest. He was out of chakra and suffered multiple lacerations from various Kunai, Needles, and Shirukens." Kiba reported.

"And you?"

"I took a sword slash to my stomach and also have multiple lacerations from various weapons. I smashed my head into a tree too and have had a headache ever since." He admitted.

"How long ago?"

"Three days."

"Men." She grumbled in irritation. "Always trying to act tuff. Look at me." She commanded.

Blinking he obeyed as she took a medical flashlight out of her bag and glared it into his eyes. He blinked and tried to turn away but she caught his chin with a hand and held him steady. When did she get so strong?

"Are you having any problems with your vision?"

"Ile."

She put the light aside and started to probe his head with her fingers until she found the large lump.

"Owe." He complained.

"No signs of concussion. I will stitch up your wound later. Right now Neji needs my attention more. Avoid activity and warn me at once if your vision starts getting wrong or if your headache doesn't go away in a few days."

She turned her attention to Neji, taking out a thermometer and stuffing it in his mouth before picking up her light again and shinning it into his eyes.

"Konohamaru-kun." She summoned.

"Hai, Sakura-san." Konohamaru answered.

"Get Hinata-chan back here ASAP." She ordered.

"Hai." Konohamaru saluted as he rushed forward in the line to the lead.

Sakura took the thermometer out of Neji's mouth and frowned. Hinata arrived as she sterilized it and put it away. Without being asked, Hinata looked at her older cousin with her Byakugan, then gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Report." Sakura ordered crisply.

"His chakra is flowing erratically. Several of the veins have been damaged, and his left lung is slightly punctured and seems to be infected. He also appears to be fighting off a poison of some sort that seems to be shutting down his tenketsu points." Hinata reported.

"I figured as much." She snarled in rage. "Hinata, can you close the damaged tenketsu points and re-route his chakra to help heal the more damaged areas?" She asked.

"Hai." She agreed as she touched her cousin in specific parts of his body while Sakura started forming seals to heal the puncture in his lung.

Hinata finished as Sakura finished performing her seals. Chakra flowed through her into her patient as she started the painfully slow process of mending the small hole in his lunge, urging damaged cells to replace themselves faster by feeding them her chakra. It was exhausting work. Sweat started to poor down her face almost immediately.

"Hinata, antibiotic." She ordered through clenched teeth.

"Hai." She took a protective case out of Sakura's bag.

She opened it up and took out a bottle before grabbing a disposable syringe. Sakura ignored her, concentrating on getting the hole sealed and fighting back as much of the infection as she could.

Hinata grabbed a cotton swab, poured some antiseptic on it, and cleaned a spot on Neji's arm before putting the needle in and injecting the antibiotic. Neji never even made a motion to show he felt anything.

Sakura knew the instant the antibiotic started working. She finished healing the hole in his lung and pulled out. She could do more, but dared not to. It was more then enough for now and Kiba still needed help. The poison was not life threatening, merely a draught that seemed to mess up his chakra and cause lethargy.

They were on the run and anything could happen at any moment. She could not afford to waste her chakra on something non-life threatening. Hinata disposed of the needle as they turned their attention to Kiba.

"Lay down and take your shirt off." Sakura ordered as Hinata took out a sterilizing cloth, opening the package and handing it to Sakura.

She cleaned her hands as Hinata pulled on a pair of disposable gloves before removing the blood soaked dressing of Kiba's wound, disposing of it in a safety bag. Sakura cleaned the wound with another cloth, ignoring Kiba's hiss of pain as Hinata pulled out a small leather pouch with various tools in it. Kiba's eyes widened when he saw the glistening tools.

"What are those for?" He asked with a gulp.

"To take out the stitches and put in new ones." Sakura answered, disposing the bloody cloth in the bag with the rest of the blood drenched stuff.

She took the sterilized needle and thread from Hinata and set to work. Kiba hissed in pain and looked anywhere but his stomach. With his stitches done, she spread some of Hinata's famous ointment on the wound before bandaging it up again.

"Done." She declared, cleaning her hands off and helping Hinata sterilize and clean up their supplies. "I will tell Shikamaru that you are restricted to light activity until the wound has closed. I would prefer it for you to ride the sand sleds unless it can't be helped."

"But." He protested.

"Kiba." She locked her eyes with his. "There is no safe house to get to. We are on our own for an unknown length of time and we need to make the supplies last. Do not take foolish risks. I will make it an order as Head Medical Specialist if need be."

"And what am I suppose to do until then?" Kiba growled in annoyance.

"Watch Neji." She stated. "I can't keep an eye on him all of the time. Here."

She handed him a bottle of pills from a different bag, which was cluttered with various bottles of other pills, and a bottle of water.

"Make sure he takes two of those every eight hours. If he wakes up or his condition shows any signs of changing, let me know immediately. Understand?"

"Hai."

"Good."

She pulled her bags over her shoulder and jumped down from the suna sled, Hinata following her as they moved to the back of the line, currently dominate by Shikamaru, Temari, and Gaara. Akamaru returned from scouting ahead and gave him a pathetic look with a whimper.

"Don't even start." Kiba warned.

Akamaru almost looked like he was laughing as he trotted next to the sled.

"They've been taking care of for the moment." Sakura stated as she fell back to Shikamaru's left, his right being dominated by Temari, and he did not look happy about it.

"As of this moment, you are the Head Medical Specialist." Shikamaru stated.

"I was the moment we were assigned the mission." She countered.

"I am making it official."

Without warning, Temari twirled around and cleared their trail with a soft wave of her fan. Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise.

"Tell Tenten and Shino to pick up the pace again." Shikamaru ordered.

"Hai." One of Konohamaru's Genin friends saluted as he ran to the front of the line.

They picked up the speed to a fast jog again, having slowed down while Sakura worked on Neji and Kiba.

"How long can you hold those suna sleds Gaara-sama?" She asked.

"Why?" He asked calmly.

"Kiba and Neji really should not move and we don't have stretchers." She answered.

"I will hold them." He stated.

"Arigato." She would have bowed politely, but they were jogging rather quickly, which quickly turned into a looping sprint the Jounin and Chuunin would be have been able to hold for several hours had they not all be exhausted from running all day.

"Shikamaru, is there a safe house nearby? We need to rest." She asked, noticing that Tenten, Hinata, Ino, Choji, the Genin, and even herself were starting to lag.

"We can't afford to until after we cross the boarder." He answered, his own breath sounding short.

It was fully dark now, the only light coming from the full moon and most of the children were asleep. Naruto had yet to catch up to them and she felt the first stirrings of worry overcome her before pushing it aside.

Something white ran up to them before it materialized as Akamaru, who barked softly. Shikamaru picked up the pace until he was running next to the sled bearing Kiba and Neji.

"What is it?" He demanded.

"Akamaru says Lee and Genma-san are on their way back." Kiba translated.

"Already?" Sakura asked surprised.

"The boarder must be guarded." Shikamaru cursed.

"Shikamaru, we need to rest. Akamaru, were there any caves or thick brush to set up a small camp in?" She asked.

Akamaru barked softly a few times while Kiba translated.

"There is a waterfall off to the right with a cave behind it. It's wet, but well covered and deep enough for all of us if we cram in."

Sakura shared a look with Shikamaru. He nodded his head as he sprinted to the front of the line to inform Tenten and Shino of the change in plans.

"How is he?" Sakura asked.

"His fever is down and his breathing is steadier. He hasn't stirred yet." Kiba reported.

She nodded her head in acknowledgment. The formation shifted to the right and the sound of a river soon reached their ears, waking up the children. Gaara covered them with his suna so no one got soaked going through he falls. In fact, if it wasn't for the suna, the water current would have made passage impossible.

Neji and Kiba were set down at the back of the cave to be as dry as possibly, followed by the children. Gaara, Temari, Akamaru, and Shikamaru stayed on the other side of the waterfall. Gaara was standing guard, he didn't sleep after all, while Temari, Shikamaru and Akamaru went to meet up with Lee and Genma, and hopefully coming across Naruto to.

"Naruto is coming." Shino stated to her.

"Huh?" She looked at him in surprise.

"Naruto is on his way here." He repeated.

"How would you know that?" She asked in surprise.

In answer he held up his hand, a single bug on it as he explained how the males could detect the scent of the females, of which one was on Naruto. Blinking in surprise, she suddenly hit a brain wave.

"Shino, can you put females on everyone. This way if someone goes missing or if we are separated, we have a higher chance of regrouping."

He nodded his head in agreement and held his hand out. Trying not to shudder in revulsion, she let the little bug crawl onto her hand and watched as it scurried up her arm and into a pocket.

"What do they eat?"

"Chakra, but so little you will not notice."

She watched as a small stream of the bugs scurried away from Shino to different targets. Feeling better now that she knew Naruto was on his way, she turned to regard the children, all of whom were huddled under blankets and shivering from the cold spray of water. Iruka was comforting many of them.

She went over to them in an attempt to help. Iruka looked exhausted and would no doubt need rest himself.

"Sakura-san, I am hungry." One complained.

"I'm cold." Another whimpered.

She sighed as she hugged them. In their rush they'd had no time to pack food, as there was none easily transportable in the hospitable.

"I know. It will be over soon."

"Do you think Konoha is okay?" Another sobbed.

"Of course." She said cheerfully. "Tsunade-sama is there and she's strong. Kakashi-sensei was fighting, as was everyone's parents."

"Then why are we still running?"

Sakura sighed.

"Konoha is most likely under enemy control, and they want to stop us from getting help. You are part of an important mission to bring aid to Konoha."

The children beamed at that. If it was one way to strike the fear out of a child, it was to let them think they were doing something very important and adult like.

"Now get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day and you all need to be at full strength."

"Goodnight Sakura-san." The children coursed.

"Goodnight." She responded.

It didn't take long for the lull of the waterfall to put them to sleep. Iruka smiled at her gratefully as he went took a post by the water, no doubt worried and waiting for Naruto to come back.

(break)

Temari and Shikamaru followed Akamaru through the trees until the white inunin stopped. A few seconds later Lee and Genma appeared.

"Blocked?" Shikamaru asked.

"For miles in either direction." Lee confirmed, looking out of breath, though not nearly as out of breath as Genma did.

Shikamaru turned to Temari.

"Is there a back way in or something?"

She shook her head in answer. "It's all open country. A child could guard it easily. The best luck we would have would be for Gaara to cover all of us with a suna shield and hope to blend in, but I doubt it would work against Akatsuki. They already got past his shield once and I am sure they will be prepared to counter such a move."

Shikamaru nodded, having already come to the same conclusion, but hopping Temari might have though of something he hadn't. He briefly toyed with the idea of a full offensive with hopes one of them would get through to Suna. He might have done it to if it were not for the children under their care and the fact that two of his more powerful Jounin where out of commission and a third's fate was unknown.

"Let's get back to the camp and rest for now, we will think of something in the morning." He ordered.

His mind was all but blank at this point, having been awake for the last eighty some odd hours. How on earth did Gaara do it? His mind was mush right now and the silence of the dark night was starting to lull him into sleep. He envied Neji and Kiba, who were both sleeping.

He glanced at Temari and noticed black circles were forming under her eyes as well and he could only imagine what he must look like. They had just made it back to the waterfall when Akamaru's fur went up and he started to growl.

"What is it?" Shikamaru demanded, putting a hand up to stop everyone.

Gaara jumped down from his perch in a nearby tree to join them, also scanning in the direction Akamaru was growling.

"Shikamaru-kun." Shouted a tired, exhausted voice from the dark.

"Naruto-kun." Temari called.

A bloody, beating Naruto materialized out of the trees.

"We need to move now. Three ANBU level patrols are on their way, one from the north, one from the south, and one from the west."

Their blood ran cold at the news as Naruto joined them. Akamaru's fur was still up and was gazing past Naruto.

"How did you find us?" Shikamaru demanded.

"I followed the trail Sakura-chan left me." He answered, holding out a few white flowers that were known to grow locally.

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, then started to dish out orders. Gaara's _Suna no Tate_ created a path to the waterfall and everyone was roused. The children protested, but fell asleep again on the suna sleds once they were out of the cave and heading south.

Neji and Kiba didn't stir as Gaara created and lifted the suna sleds under them. Akamaru joined his master's side, still glaring off into the distance were the scent of many enemies were fast approaching.

They moved out at a full sprint, the Genin packed with the children to allow faster speeds. Having only a few hours rest, the Chuunin and Jounin were not doing any better. Shikamaru and Temari started to lag almost instantly before Sakura ordered them up on suna sleds before they ran themselves to death.

Both protested, but Sakura made it a direct order as Head Medical Specialist, which outranked Shikamaru as Team Leader and Temari as Second in command, which Sakura had no doubt she was even if Shikamaru would deny it. They meshed so well it was amazing.

She was doing no better then they, having exhausted a fair bit of her Chakra healing Neji. She almost yelped in shock when Naruto scooped her up.

"Naruto-kun." She hissed.

"They are gaining on us. We need to move faster." Naruto answered calmly.

She didn't ask how he knew that, but she did notice his eyes were slit and red instead of baby blue. His whiskers were more pronounced and he looked like he had fangs. Chakra was flowing around him and she realized it was red instead of his usual blue. His previous wounds had also already healed.

"_Is this Kyuubi's doing?" She wondered._

"They are gaining. We aren't going to outrun them. Akamaru, run ahead and see if you can find a place to defend." Naruto ordered.

Sakura expected Shikamaru to protest, but looking back he noticed that the Jounin was firmly unconscious, as was Temari, Kankurou, and Kiba.

Akamaru barked in agreement and sprinted ahead. Naruto fell back a bit and placed her on the sled next to the sleeping Jounin.

"Rest. Things are going to get ugly soon." Naruto commanded as he fell further back, taking up the rear with Gaara.

(break)

Naruto was very worried. Tenten, Lee, Shino and Genma looked like they were holding up okay, but the Genin, Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Choji were starting to lag. He deposited Sakura on one of the sleds, than ordered the other chuunin up before they ran themselves to death.

It was a sure sign of their exhaustion when none of them protested, but obediently and silently obeyed. The other members of Gaara's rescue team were already unconscious; thanks to the sleeping Jutsu Gaara had taught him during his visit to Suna. At the rate they were going, they would die of exhaustion come dawn.

"How much longer can you hold those sleds?" Naruto asked quietly so the others couldn't hear.

"An hour at most." Gaara admitted, his breath laboured.

Gaara was not use to running long distances and was only still active at all since he had been carried back to Konoha while the others ran. Naruto was still running since Kyuubi healed him fast and he had a lot of endurance, but even he admitted he was nearing his end.

He had used all of his Chakra when confronting Sasuke and was drawing purely off of Kyuubi now. Sasuke, now that had been an interesting encounter and he couldn't help but to smirk when he though of it. Things were bound to get interesting.

* * *

Well, now we knew where Sasuke is. More of Sasuke and his confrontation with Naruto next chapter. If anyone wonders most chapter are eight to ten pages of twelve font long. 

Kurenai's relationship with Asuma is not really shown much in this part of the arc. Mostly she will be dealing with Katsu's constant demands upon her and with the children she is trying to protect. Most of the relationship growing between the two will be in the second arc, hopefully. I haven't started on the second arc and my stories have a way of writing themselves. Heck, all of the stuff after chapter 2 with kurenai hadn't been planned. It sort of weaseled its way in so every second chapter was from her point of view. I found her really easy to write.

Thanks to dragonzair, queen dopplepoppleous, The gandhara, and NissanNut for reviewing. Glad to know I am not the only Kurenai fan out there.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Confrontations

Sasuke raced through the forest, intending to find Naruto and his group first before Akatsuki got a hold of him. He cared not for their plans, or for Orochimaru for that matter. All he cared about was gaining the power to kill Itachi. The fact he was essentially working with his hated brother angered him, but he hadn't moved yet.

As far as he knew Akatsuki knew nothing of him working with Orochimaru, and he wanted to keep it that way. If it was one thing he had learned from Kabuto, it was patience. He would kill Itachi, but he would do it in his own terms. Until then, he avoided dealing with Akatsuki so he would not risk the chance of coming across Itachi before the field had been set up the way he wanted.

Morning turned to noon, and then evening. He was catching up. Moving a group of twenty-two children, nine Genin, six Chuunin, nine Jounin, of which some were wounded, a white inunin, and the Kazekage was impossible without leaving a trail of some sort.

He admitted the trail was well covered for the group he was tracking. Intel had informed him of the description of those who had gone through the tunnels. He quickly labelled them off and their potential threats.

Of the children, none of them were a threat to him. They were next to nothing compared to his strength. Of the Genin he recognized a few names, but they were all fresh out of the academy and, other then Konohamaru and Henabi, none stuck out like the Rookie-nine did in their year.

Of the Chuunin only a few might be able to challenge him. Ino, Choji, Hinata, Tenten, Sakura and Iruka were no threat to him. Ino was entirely genjutsu and his Sharingan nullified anything she could do. Choji, Tenten and Iruka stood no chance against his Sharingan's ability to read into their moves, as they were not fast enough to catch him. Hinata was not confident enough to stand up to him and Sakura would refuse to fight him.

It was the Jounin he would face trouble with. Genma, Kankurou, Temari and Shikamaru he felt would be little threat to him. Shino's bugs were annoying, but he was sure he could deal with them.

Kiba's _Gatsuuga_ could be a problem considering its amazing speed and the fact that it was impossible to make eye contact. Lee was most likely trained by Gai on how to defeat the Sharingan. Neji would be a great obstacle with the full power of the byakugan at his disposal. It was Naruto who would give him the hardest fight.

If Intel was right, and it was rarely wrong, Neji was too injured to even move. Shikamaru, Temari and Kankurou were at the end of their strength and Kiba was right along with them with the added handicap of being wounded. That left Lee and Naruto.

The sun had set and the light from the full moon illuminated the sky. He felt an immense chakra come towards him. Someone had decided to come back and slow pursuit.

"Heh, Akamaru must have picked up my scent." He guessed correctly.

He pulled to a stop in a clearing, awaiting the arrival of his rival. He had no doubt it was Naruto heading towards him. No one else had chakra this strong.

The blue eyed blond arrived a minute later, landing in the center of the clearing, crossing his arms, and tapping a foot impatiently. Sasuke remained where he was, watching Naruto calmly with eyes red with the Sharingan.

"Oi, come out already Sasuke-kun. I have to kick your ass for last time." Naruto finally shouted.

"Humph." He grunted pleasantly as he appeared before Naruto.

They eyed each other up, taking a measure on how the last three years had changed the other. Both were taller and leaner. To an untrained eye they looked like athletes as opposed to body builders.

"Naruto."

"Sasuke-kun."

Silence rained between them once more.

"Kill Itachi yet?"

"Ile. There will be a time for that."

"I see you learned something useful during you stay with Oto."

Sasuke grinned. "I have learned more then just patience."

"Care to show me?"

"It will be my pleasure Dobe."

Both of them drew a kunai as they squared off. There was a tense silence between them as they waited for the right moment to strike.

"K_age Bunshin no Jutsu_." Naruto started things off.

"That old technique." Sasuke scoffed, ignoring the twenty clones that Naruto created. "_Katon: Karyuu Endan_."

A large blast of fire in the shape of a dragon shot from Sasuke's mouth towards Naruto. The roar of the fire was deafening. Grinning, Naruto's Kage Bunshins leaped into the trees, shouting and throwing Kunai. Naruto himself didn't move as the Karyuu roared towards him with hell fire like heat, to fly over his shoulder and burn the attacker coming up behind him to cinders.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a grin as they turned their backs to each other and sprinted in opposite directions. Naruto's fist collided with an otonin, who was taking completely by surprise having assumed Sasuke's Karyuu had consumed Naruto.

He had just enough time to allow his eyes to widen in fear before Naruto's kunai ended his life. The Kage Bunshins didn't last long. These were no small fry he was fighting. They were easily Jounin level and he was still tired out from rescuing Gaara.

Off in the distance he caught sight of various Katon jutsu's being fired off by Sasuke, setting the forest on fire.

"Oi, don't burn the place down." Naruto shouted.

Sasuke didn't answer as he used a _Suidon: Suiryuu Endan_ for his next strike, the Suiryuu drenching and putting out the burning fire while still pulverizing several surprised foes.

"None of them can get away." Sasuke warned.

"I am not that dumb, Bastard." Naruto shouted back. "Besides, you aren't the only one to pick up some fancy new jutsu's." Naruto grinned.

"Nani?"

"I learned this one from Temari-chan." Naruto pulled a small fan out of his belt, the image of Kyuubi on it. "_Kamaitachi no Jutsu_."

A large gust of wind burst forth, blowing some of the fire out and sending many otonin's flying to break their bodies on various trees and rocks.

Sasuke admitted he was impressed that Naruto was able to get Temari to teach him that, though he wouldn't admit it.

"Is that all Dobe?"

"I haven't even gotten started." Naruto grinned.

The battles turned into a contest to see who could out do and impress the other with their new Jutsu's. Sasuke had clearly spent time in Mizu while Naruto had clearly spent time in Suna. Out of respect, Sasuke didn't try to copy any of Naruto's Jutsu's, most picked up from Temari, but a few picked up from Gaara and Kankurou. The others must have come from Jiraiya just as Sasuke's came from Orochimaru and Kabuto.

The place looked like a war zone by the time they were done, dead bodies littered the ground everywhere and both boys looked ruffed up and were out of chakra. They were powerful, more so then most, but even they could be out numbered. The lack of chakra came from showing off their new, more powerful jutsu's then due to actually difficulty in the fight.

Panting for breath, they both leaned against a tree opposite from each other.

"I see you didn't use that stupid curse seal of yours." Naruto panted.

"Got rid of it." Sasuke panted back.

"How?"

"Kabuto-san. He didn't like the fact I was stronger then him. That and I think he was curious to see if he could."

Naruto grinned, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

"You know about Kyuubi?" Naruto asked uncertainly. As far as he knew, Sasuke was the only one of the rookie-nine who didn't.

"Orochimaru mentioned it." Sasuke admitted.

"And?" Naruto felt his entire body tense up in worry about what Sasuke thought of him now.

"I knew you were cheating dobe, I just didn't know how."

Naruto chuckled. "Think of Kyuubi as my way of levelling the field with you and Neji."

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. By now they had caught their breath and no longer stuttered their sentences.

"Oto doesn't suit you. The symbol is abhorrent." Naruto commented, standing up straight, many of his small cuts already healed. "Here. I've kept this for you."

Naruto reached into a pocked and threw something that glistened from the still burning fires. Sasuke stood up and caught it, blinking in disbelief.

"You kept this?"

"I knew you would need it back."

"Why?"

"Because you are not like Orochimaru." Naruto answered with a grin.

Sasuke chuckled as he took his old headband, still scratched from Naruto's Rasengan, and tied it around his waist like a belt. The moment was broken by a cackle from Sasuke's radio.

Naruto didn't understand the coded speech, but Sasuke looked disturbed. Sasuke disturbed meant terrible news.

"What is it?" Naruto demanded.

"Our fight didn't go unnoticed. Three teams of Sound ANBU are moving in our location."

Naruto's face held a hint of panic as he turned to face the trail the others had headed down. They would stand no chance against such odds in their current state. With the children slowing them down, the chance of discovery was almost 100 percent.

"Go." Sasuke urged. "I'll try to slow them down to give you guys a head start."

"Thanks." Naruto grinned.

Sasuke just waved his hand as Naruto sprinted off, easily finding the trail Sakura had left for him.

"_Good work Sakura-chan." Naruto thought as he followed the trail of flowers she had left for him._

Sasuke watched Naruto leave with a slight smile. Only Naruto knew about his defection to Oto being all part of a highly classified spying mission to find Orochimaru's motives. Not even Tsunade knew about it. As far as Konoha was concerned, he was a traitor.

The first group of the Oto ANBU arrived. Silently they surveyed the scene before moving on. Only one stayed behind to confront him. His easy manner and white hair gave him away instantly.

"Kabuto-san." Sasuke acknowledged.

"Sasuke-kun. I trust this is Naruto-kun's work." He asked with a chuckle.

"Hai."

Kabuto grinned as he looked at the destruction lying around him. Both boys had truly grown strong over the years to cause such devastation.

"How was Naruto-kun doing?" Kabuto asked as he treated Sasuke's wounds without being asked to.

"He's gotten stronger." Sasuke admitted.

"Stronger then you, Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto asked amused.

"Hnh." Was Sasuke's reply.

"His group will be caught in time. I heard reports that they were slowed down by wounded and children."

Sasuke knew Kabuto was right. They might have stood a chance if the Jounin in the group had been at full health instead of either half dead or too exhausted to move straight, let alone think straight.

"Konoha has been secured. The prisoners are having their Tenketsu points sealed and the civilians are free to go about their regular business." Kabuto reported. "The Shinobi have been divided into groups and are under house arrest with two guards per four prisoners. The children are being held at the school with the wounded and medical staff being held at the hospital.

"Of the four mercenary groups that joined them, the four leaders and their two second in commands have been giving permission to pick a personal slave for themselves, a few exceptions of course."

"Who are the four leaders and of what Mercenary groups?" Sasuke asked, flexing his now healed arm as Kabuto moved onto his right leg.

"Yashero of the Ryuujin, Kenari of the Ryouken, Alara of the Kageken, and Katsu, leader of the small medical village of Mikora in Mizu country. The first three are makunin's, but Katsu is a village leader. It's his job to oversee the children and the hospital."

"How trustworthy are these mercenaries?"

"The Ryouken and the Kageken seem safe enough to me, but the Ryuujin may need some watching, as will a fair number of our own troops. Though they are fanatically loyal to Orochimaru-sama and he ordered the villagers and prisoners to be treated fairly by Akatsuki's command, a few might get out of hand. Akatsuki apparently gave similar orders and I trust them to keep their members in line.

"The mercenary groups are being paid for by Akatsuki, so I trust they will be kept in line. Akatsuki is not very forgiving of disloyalty." Kabuto finished healing him.

"I see."

"Itachi-san is at the village now." Kabuto stated.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in anger at the mention of his brother, but didn't show any other emotion.

"What are my orders?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"Simply put, to bring in the three Orochimaru-sama has his eyes on."

"Neji, Shikamaru and Temari." Sasuke repeated.

Kabuto nodded his head.

"If the kids are curious about their teachers, tell them they are still alive and unharmed."

Sasuke nodded his head as he stretched out his muscles to check Kabuto's work. Everything felt like it was in working order. Sasuke leaped after Naruto's trail, grinning as he saw the dobe had left a few of Sakura's flowers behind to mark the trail for him.

The ANBU would be moving randomly, hoping to find the trail while Sasuke was able to follow it directly. He noticed they were heading south towards the mountains. He was familiar with the area having trained with Kabuto there a year ago.

The mountain range was full of cave labyrinths and tunnels the group could use to rest and hide in until the searchers passed on. All he would have to do was catch up to them first.

(break)

Kabuto watched Sasuke leave with slight grin. He knew of Sasuke's mission to find out Orochimaru's motives for Konoha. He himself had been trying to discern what Orochimaru's motives were for years and had been moderately successful.

Sasuke's motives were easy enough to figure out. Become stronger to kill Itachi, even if he had to sign a contract with the devil to do so. If only Orochimaru was so easy to discern.

Kabuto turned back to Konoha. He would have to report to Orochimaru and then go through the task of picking a personal slave for himself, though he was sure he already knew whom he was going to choose. It was only fitting that Tsunade's handmaiden be tied to Orochimaru's. He was sure Shizune would not object. She could end up with much worse and he was, after all, a gentleman.

(break)

The enemy was moving in fast and the sound of a roaring river ahead of them spoke of disaster sure to follow. Sure enough, Hinata warning of a river ahead, a very deep, wide, river brown with mud and clearly over flowing, came back to him from the lead.

Gaara by this point was all but out of Chakra. With no other choice, the children were awoken and forced to run on their own. Shikamaru, Temari, Gaara, Sakura and Kankurou stumbled more then they ran. Genma carried Kiba and Iruka carried Neji, both boys still unconscious thanks to a little help from Naruto.

Naruto himself was not feeling all that great. Kyuubi did give him amazing stamina, but even he had his limits, and he was far past them now. They stared at the river in dismay. A quick look up and down by Hinata and Henabi provided nothing. They were trapped.

"Gaara, how much chakra you got left?" Naruto asked.

Gaara looked at him, instinctively knowing what the blond was going to ask as he had already though of it and had already weighed the possibility.

"Enough." He answered. "But I will be useless for several hours after this." He admitted. "How about you and frogs?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Not enough Chakra left to summon anyone useful in this situation." He admitted.

Gaara nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Akamaru suddenly barked, alerting them to an intruder. At once everyone looked up to where the inunin was pointing with his nose, weapons ready.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura shouted shocked.

The others seemed frozen in shock as well.

"What are you doing dobe?" Sasuke snarled.

"Good to see you to, bastard." Naruto grinned back. "How much time did you give us?"

The others gapped at Naruto, who was sharing a grin with Sasuke.

"Not enough." Sasuke admitted. " Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei, and Gai-sensei are fine and Kabuto-san sends his greetings."

"So that's why you're looking better. If I knew Kabuto-san was coming around, I would have stuck around longer."

"Others came to. So far they haven't found the trail, but they are nearing. There is a series of tunnels in those mountains. If we can get to them we can hide and rest for a few days."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"Why should we trust you?" Shino asked, being the first to interrupt the conversation between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Because Sasuke-kun's with us." Naruto answered. "What does Orochimaru want with us anyway?" Naruto asked.

"He was impressed you beat his five warriors and wants the ones responsible for most of the damage." Sasuke admitted. " I am supposed to find Neji, Shikamaru and Temari and bring them back to Orochimaru, but he never specified how or in what condition." Sasuke grinned.

"Nani?" Temari asked shocked.

"You made an impression on Orochimaru. He can't have Naruto and Gaara because Akatsuki already has claims on them." Sasuke explained.

"What of Kiba and Choji?" Shikamaru asked.

"Kiba is wanted by one of the four mercenary groups working for Akatsuki just because his is an Inuzuka. It was in their agreement with Akatsuki that members of the family were to be handed over." Sasuke answered.

"And me?" Choji asked, a large amount of fear in his voice.

"Orochimaru has brute strength already."

"And Kankurou?" Temari demanded.

"Has no need for his knowledge on poisons or puppets."

"And do you plan on bringing us to Orochimaru?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Doing so during a full counter strike sounds like a good time to me." Naruto grinned. "Never said anything about being subdued or anything, right?"

Sasuke only nodded his head in agreement, a slight smirk on his lips.

"Are you telling me you left Konoha to go to Orochimaru just so you could be a spy?" Sakura asked hopefully, breaking into the conversation.

"Nah, he left for power, I just convinced to be useful while he was at it." Naruto stated proudly, crossing his arms and nodding his head.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata sighed in exasperation.

"But you said you got those wounds in a confrontation with Sasuke." Sakura all but shrieked at him.

"I did. We fought of a group of otonin's." Naruto answered.

Sakura rushed forward to give Naruto a piece of her fist, but was stopped at the last minute by Tenten and Ino, who had a hard time holding the enraged woman back.

"Now is not the time." Gaara spoke up startling everyone.

His suna was halfway across the one hundred meter wide river.

Nodding in understanding, Naruto was the first to step trustingly on the suna bridge. The others followed in various degrees of uneasy, uncaring, or awe. Gaara took up the rear, pulling the suna in behind him and resetting it ahead of them to reach the other bank.

They were halfway across before Akamaru barked in warning and they were forced to sprint. Kunai, Shiruken and needles came flying at them from the other side of the river, most of them deflected by blast of Temari's fan, the rest picked of by Tenten.

Gaara collapsed the moment they made it across. Without hesitation, Naruto flung the Kazekage over his shoulder and burst into a run. The children were terrified and it was hard to keep them moving as a group.

(break)

Tenten and Temari took up the rear, standing on the rivers edge and discouraging pursuit. Their pursuers could run on the water, but it would leave them very wide open to Temari and Tenten's attacks.

"You've gotten better then last time we met." Temari commented, watching as one foolish foe was quickly taking down by a few well-placed kunai.

"We all have our weaknesses. Your style just happens to be mine." Tenten answered as her blades took down another villain.

"Want to learn a new Technique?" Temari asked wickedly.

Tenten looked at her in surprise. Why would Temari be willing to teach her a technique? Sure Suna and Konoha were allies, but even friends in the same village didn't share all they knew with others.

Grinning, Temari did her hand seals slowly, emphasizing each one and saying the words clearly. When she finished, moots of dirt now dried into suna floated before her in the shapes of kunai before flying forward to impale another person foolish enough to try and cross.

Tenten grinned, seeing how this move would clearly benefit her with her need for weapons, and weapons often being limited.

"That was the _Sunakunai no Jutsu._ Give it a try." Temari prompted.

Tenten followed Temari's lead and followed through with the seals, repeating after Temari. She didn't expect to get it the first time, but she was impressed to note she managed to make two clumps of sand from the beach they were standing on.

Temari had made ten kunai again and they were already raining into the opposite bank. Tenten sent her two as well, if nothing more then for distraction. They did it again and again until Tenten started to run low on chakra and the enemy gave up for the moment.

By then she could create two, fully made sunakunai. Both woman turned from the bank and ran after the others, following the flowers Sakura had left behind. The sky had lightened and the sun would be up soon.

"You did pretty well for your first try." Temari complimented.

"Arigato. I can see how this technique would benefit me greatly, but why show it to me?" Tenten asked.

Temari grinned. "To say sorry for kicking your ass I guess. Besides, Kazekage-sama commanded us to help Konoha with all our strength as repayment for coming after him and you clearly needed the help."

Tenten wasn't certain if Temari was teasing or if she should show the older shinobi she was quite able to take care of herself, in the end she settled for a little revenge instead.

"So has Shikamaru-kun asked you to marry him yet? The entire village is betting on it." Tenten smirked; satisfied to see Temari's cheeks flush slightly, though it could have been from the rising sun that now fell upon them.

"We are just friends." Temari stated firmly, a little too firmly.

"Right." Tenten chuckled. "Are arranged marriages permitted in Suna?" Tenten asked.

"Hai." Temari admitted. "But they need to approval of the head of both families."

"Who's the head of yours?"

"Gaara."

"I know Kazekage-sama is all for it. From a political point of view, a marriage between the Kazekage's family and a family in Konoha would be a great asset to the alliance you know. What does Shikamaru-kun's mom think of you?"

"She likes me. Why?"

"You do know she is the head of her family, right." Tenten smirked; pleased to see Temari was now livid with half fear and half rage. "What do you see in Shikamaru-kun anyway?" Tenten asked curiously.

Temari answered without thinking, absently noting she could see the others now, Akamaru holding back to meet up with them and scent for enemies. "He's smart. He is the first person to ever beat me in strategy and I find him intriguing. And it is so fun to push his buttons. He's not half bad looking without a shirt on and his hair down either." Temari answered.

Tenten raised an eyebrow at that. When had Temari seen Shikamaru without his shirt on and his hair down? She was about to ask when Temari answered for her.

"Before your mind can think up all sort of twisted thoughts, I cut his shirt and hair tie off during training one time when we were looking for Gaara. I was practicing my control. Now I just cut the hair tie down to annoy him."

Tenten giggled and absently wondered what Neji would do if she managed the same. However, unlike Shikamaru, Neji had 365-degree vision and the _Kaiten_ to stop attacks, unless if Temari taught her a few wind attacks, though Neji had been able to see the chakra embedded in the wind so that wouldn't work. Maybe small amounts would get past him undetected, and he did need the byakugan activated to see it.

"Temari, think you could show me a few of those wind jutsu's you use?" Tenten asked, not really expecting a positive answer, as she wasn't fully serious.

"Only if you teach me how to hit a target, or at least near a target."

"Huh?"

"I'll admit, I can't hit the broad side of a barn with a kunai if I was standing right in front of it, that's why I use my fan. With the radius on its attacks, I can hit anything. I didn't hit much now, if you noticed, and that was mostly luck. Deal?" Temari held out her hand.

Grinning, Tenten shock it in agreement. Temari would teach her to control the wind in exchange for teaching Temari how to throw a weapon and hit her target. Both girls joined the group, noting as they did that everyone was clearly on their last leg, but Naruto and Sasuke kept them going, insisting it wasn't to far now until they could get to shelter.

Gaara was still out cold and on Naruto's shoulder and Iruka and Genma were still carrying Neji and Kiba.

Both adults had been surprisingly quiet. Iruka's primary concern was the small children under their care, just what they expected of the protected teacher, but Genma was an enigma to them. Other then during the Chuunin exam, little was known about him other then he had fought, and lost, against Orochimaru's men that Shikamaru's team, with the suna-nins, had managed to take out.

Temari checked on her brothers, not surprised to see Gaara still unconscious and Kankurou all but sleep walking. Shikamaru was stumbling even worse. She felt a little better, but knew her adrenaline from the earlier fight would ware off soon.

(break)

"Up there." Sasuke finally called around late morning, early afternoon.

Those able to carried the others up the sheer rock face and into a dry cave hidden by vines. Sakura had walked next to Sasuke the entire time, just glad that he was back. She hadn't spoken a word to him and he seemed to appreciate it.

Looking back over the years, she wondered how he ever put up with her. She had been no better then Ino or any other girl, flinging themselves at his feet. Now that he was back, she was surprised she felt no overwhelming need to hug or kiss him. All she felt was a great relief to have a friend back.

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura turned to face Lee, the shinobi exhausted from having carried the kids up three at a time, one in either arm and one hanging on his back.

"Hai, Lee-kun?" She asked, feeling a light warmth embrace her.

Lee had finally done something about his looks. His eyes brows were not so think and his hair was now all one length and held back in a braid. He still wore the exact same outfit as Gai, complete with chuunin vest, but he looked far better then Gai ever would.

"Genma-san says Kiba-kun is awake and that Neji-kun 's breathing is getting laboured again." Lee reported with a salute.

His attitude had mellowed down a lot to. He was still excitable, but less loud about it and he didn't do those annoying nice-guy posses as much. Unlike Gai-sensei, Rock Lee grew up.

"Hinata-chan." Sakura called to her assistant as she moved over to Kiba and Neji.

Kiba was awake and clutching his side, hissing lightly. Blood had seeped through his bandages, but she didn't think the stitches had broken. Neji was breathing shallow again and he was pale.

"_Must be that damn poison circulating through his system." She thought to herself._

Hinata arrived and quickly started to change Kiba's bandages and apply more healing salve, apologizing with a "Gomen, Kiba-kun" every time he hissed in pain.

Sakura formed a few hand seals and started to go through Neji's vitals. The infection was getting worse, not better. With Kiba out cold, no one had giving Neji his antibiotic. Sighing, she asked Hinata to throw her the bottle from Kiba before forcing two pills down Neji's throat and started her chakra flowing to his lungs to help strengthen them and to heal the scar tissue around his lung a bit more.

After several minutes, Neji's breathing evened out again and he regained some color. The poison was not leaving his system, she noted sourly. Without knowing what it was, she dared not give him an antidote. Some poisons were designed to kill when the wrong antidote was administered.

Having done all she could, she sat back and closed her eyes to rest for a few seconds, having spent a fair bit of her chakra healing his lungs and fighting back the infection. She never noticed when Lee picked her up and moved her to a more comfortable position. Never stirred when he used his own jacket as a bed and undid hers to use as a blanket.

Exhausted, drained, and weary, everyone found a comfortable spot to lie down and was soon asleep. Shino's bugs and Akamaru's nose would warn them of danger. Right now they all needed to rest. Food would be an issue later when they all realized it had been far over twenty-four hours since they last ate.

Sasuke and Naruto shared a look, and silently slipped out of the cave to try and find something to eat for the others. One was fairly rested and the other only needed a few hours rest before Kyuubi restored a fair bit of his chakra, at least enough to let him help Sasuke fish like they had done countless times before.

* * *

Karma strike drew a great picture of Kurenai with Kento and Kiri, who will be introduced next chapter. You can see it was www. deviantart. karmastrike. Com She was my primary beta reader for this fict.

Big thanks to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 5

Deals and Submissiveness

Kurenai awoke to Katsu taking the cuff off of her wrist. She pretended to sleep until she heard the door open, and only then dared to open her eyes.

"You will be ready and presentable by noon." Katsu stated as he slid the door closed behind him and left.

She was really starting to hate him. Sitting up and stretching muscles stiff from sleeping on the floor, she finally rolled out of her blankets, folded them, and stashed them under what should have been her bed.

Grimacing at the feeling of clothes slept in twice now, she opened the bottom drawer of the dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of white clothes before heading to the shower. She could smell what was left of the food in the house being cooked by one of the guys as she closed the bathroom door and locked it before stripping and taking a shower. Her mind raced as she freshened up for the day.

What did Katsu really want from her anyway? Why treat her differently from the others? Was it because she was a girl and he thought her weak for it? Did he target her to control the other three? Why was he so concerned about her being presentable anyway? She was just a prisoner at the moment. Why let her see the children in the first place?

That last one she figured she new. They were fishing and she just then realized the trap she had falling into. The brush she had been using to comb out her tangled, wet hair froze.

"Shit." She cursed under her breath. _"If I admit the children are the ones Gai got out, and a highly doubt they are, then I will be forced to,"_ she shuddered, _"bed him as we agreed. If they are Gai's, I have to, if they aren't I will either have to say no and let them know Gai's made it out safely, or say yes and still end up…"_ She couldn't finish that thought.

There was still the chance Katsu would show her a group he knew didn't belong to Gai, then just punish her for lying to him. There was even a chance Gai's group had been taken and he would be showing her a false group to test her.

"_Damn underneath the underneath." She cursed._

Two things were clear. The other three men need not know about any of this, and she would do anything to protect the children.

He thoughts were interrupted by Asuma knocking on the door, asking if she was finished so he could take his shower and letting her know breakfast was ready. She quickly got dressed and offered him a slight grin as she apologized and headed downstairs.

Asuma had cooked this morning and while it wasn't the greatest thing she had ever eating, it wasn't the worst either. Asuma returned from his shower after she finished eating. The men sat at the table while she cleaned up breakfast.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Asuma asked.

"I have some board games and cards in the hallway closet." Kurenai suggested.

Gai was on them in an instant, challenging Kakashi to each one. Kurenai not so kindly reminded Gai that there were _four_ of them, not two. Gai relented and they set up a game of poker at Asuma's suggestion.

They played until ten-thirty, Kakashi and Kurenai tied for the lead trailed by Asuma and a dejected Gai, when their other guard returned with a package, which he handed to her.

She looked at him blankly. Whatever was in the package was clearly fabric of some sort.

"Katsu-san wants you ready by noon." He stated as he left again.

The three men looked at her in confusion. She was busted. Sighing in defeat, she told them a fragment of the truth. Katsu wanted her to accompany him to see some of the captured children to confirm if they were Gai's or not.

Gai loudly proclaimed they weren't before Asuma shut him up with a club to the back of the head. Gai calmed down after that and quickly gave descriptions of his charges. Kakashi kept grinning the entire time and Kurenai was positive the thoughts were perverted in some way. Asuma looked like he was leery of the situation.

After explaining the situation to them, Kakashi spoke first. "You should open it." He suggested.

Sighing, she did as requested and nearly gasped and dropped the package. Gai managed to catch it and spread it out over the table. It was a spring kimono of the finest silk any of them had ever seen. It was a light ruby to match her eyes and the white dragons in the pattern helped to make sure the color didn't wash her out any. The obi was black.

"I absolutely refuse to wear that." She stated.

"Put it on." Kakashi all but demanded, eager to see her in it.

"Ile." She said forcefully.

"You already agreed you would go with him." Kakashi pressed.

"I am not wearing that." She stated again firmly.

"Kurenai, think of it as a mission. You will be the first of us to get out of the house and truly see the state of the village. We should start keeping track of the other shinobi we see so we will know who we have on hand and were they are likely to be during our counter attack." Asuma pushed, truly wanting to see her in the kimono as well.

Kurenai looked like she was almost convinced it would be a good idea. Every girl wanted to dress up once and this was the finest silk ever to be found

"Oi, there's more." Gai proclaimed, holding out the small box that clearly held jewellery of some sort.

Gulping, she took it from his hand and opened it before dropping it back onto the table, spilling out the contents. The men stared openly.

"Is that real ruby?" Kakashi asked.

"Is that really white gold?" Asuma added.

"The dragons look like the ones on the kimono." Gai stated to obvious.

Lying on the table was a pair of white gold earrings shaped like dragons. In each claw and in both eyes were the finest cut ruby stones she had ever seen. A chain of white gold and rubies also accompanied the earrings and she was unsure if it was suppose to be for her neck or forehead.

"I am not wearing these." She stated.

"Kurenai, we shouldn't pick a fight with our captors yet over something so trivial." Kakashi stated wisely.

"Kakashi is right Kurenai. Think of the safety of the civilians." Asuma added.

"And think of the children. They must be terrified and seeing a friendly face will lift their youthful spirits." Gai proclaimed loudly.

"You just want to see me dressed up." She stated.

"Ah." All three men looked abashed, having been fairly caught.

"Kurenai, just because we really want to see you in that outfit, for non lecherous reasons I assure you, we do have a point." Kakashi pointed out.

They did. Picking a fight over something so trivial was pointless. And the children were probably terrified. Sighing in defeat, she headed up to the bathroom to change and freshen up once more.

She put the kimono on first, marvelling at the feel of the soft silk on her skin and admiring the soft sound it made when she moved. The obi was a thing from hell, but she managed. The jewellery was the hard part. Her ears were not pierced so she had to find a pin and do it herself.

She cursed slightly at the pain, but got over it quickly. The chain of rubies concerned her. She had no idea were to put them. Her forehead protector looked foolish on her in this out fit so she took it off, but the absence of anything there made her feel uncomfortable so she put the chain there to make up for the absence.

She took up a comb and brushed her hair out, checking to see if it looked better hidden in her hair or sitting over it. In the end she opted to put her hair over it leaving only the forehead part revealed.

Turning in the mirror once to check how she looked, she had to admit she was stunning and felt a little giddy about it. She turned to take a step forward, and all but got tangled up in the kimono.

She was really going to kill Katsu when all was said and done. She started to mentally go over her list of the most horrendous genjutsu's she knew as she walked, or attempted to, down the stairs.

She was met with silence. All three men were standing their gapping at her.

"Nani?" She snapped irritated.

"You look stunning Kurenai-chan." Gai shouted. "An amazing display of your youthful figure and…" Asuma shut him up with a punch to the back of the head.

"You look very nice." Asuma stated.

She was most definitely not blushing. It was just a little warm in the room, that was all.

"Something is missing." Kakashi stated.

"Nothing is missing." Kurenai stated.

"Ah yes. Kurenai-chan, what do you have for makeup?" Kakashi asked innocently.

"NANI?" She shouted.

"Make up. You know, eye shadow, nail polish, lipstick?" Kakashi named a few.

"What need would I have for items like that?" She demanded, hands on her hips.

Ignoring her outrage, Kakashi went passed her and up the stairs to her bathroom before returning with a bag full of exactly what he had been asking about. Kurenai actually blushed and would have killed him if she could move in her kimono with any decency.

"Those are strictly for mission purposes." She stated.

Kakashi emptied the bag on the table and ordered her to sit across from him. She blatantly refused. It was bad enough she had put the stupid kimono on in the first place. Besides, what did Kakashi know about female makeup?

Half an hour later and one convincing argument, Kurenai had to admit Kakashi knew what he was doing, no doubt from reading the dirty books that seemed to frequent his person.

The bell tolled noon just as Kakashi finished putting her eye shadow on. The door to the house opened and their guard walked in, stopping at the door and looking at her in shock.

She hated to admit it, but she was stunning. The door opened a second time and their guard stepped aside as Katsu entered the kitchen. He caught sight of her and grinned.

"Ah, ready I see. Come, the children have been anticipating your arrival."

Kurenai nodded her head in silent agreement as she walked up to him and followed him to the door. She hesitated briefly before stepping through the thresh hold and into the afternoon sun.

Katsu took the lead and she followed, inwardly cursing at the restrictive movement of her kimono, but keeping her eyes peeled for other shinobi. They passed many civilians dressed in the same blue outfits. Many greeted her hesitantly, but all moved aside for Katsu.

On the roofs she spotted many guards and many of them didn't wear headbands. She did notice at least three different clan seals. If she counted Katsu's that made four different clans.

Who he was and his connection to Akatsuki had been just one of the questions they had thought to bring up with him while doing her makeup. That and she held the shopping list tucked in her kimono as they were officially out of food.

Konoha was wealthy, but she wondered how they were going to feed this many people. A city could not take a fifty percent population surge and hope to feed itself for long.

"_Kami, if Akatsuki managed to bring in this many outfits for their prisoners, they probably brought in wagons of food to. Akatsuki does nothing half-baked." She figured silently._

She spotted no other shinobi, or civilians, dressed like her. Clearly she was an exception. They were still several blocks from the school so she decided to see what information she could glean from him in that time.

"Katsu-sama, might I ask a few questions?" She forced herself to ask politely, but she was sure he picked up on the malice in her voice.

"Hai." He agreed offhandedly.

"Who is our other guard?" She started with something she was sure he would answer.

"Geki." He answered.

She made a mental note of the name and continued to ask relatively harmless questions.

"Are all of the shinobi being held in groups of four like we are?"

"Mostly. There are some exceptions."

"Are all the children being held at the school?"

"Right now, hai."

She didn't bother to ask why. She knew it was to control their parents and the rest of the population that the children were separated. Now for the harder questions, of which she feared he might get angry about but had to ask anyway.

"What is your connection with Akatsuki?" She asked.

"They hired my services." He answered.

So he was a mercenary, and she bet the other three crests she had seen belonged to other mercenary bands as well.

Questions were halted as they arrived at a school. He held the door open for her and they walked down the hall to the first classroom. He opened the door to reveal twenty-two children no older then six or seven.

The moment they saw her they surrounded her and started sobbing, demanding to know where their respected parents or other important people were. She managed to get down on her knees and tried to comfort the children as best she could.

Of the children in this group, she was only able to identify two of them from their distinctive markings. One was Kiba's younger cousin, Kento. The other, to Kurenai's horror, was Neji and Hinata's younger, second cousin Kiri, her curse seal fully displayed and her white eyes clearly gave away her heritage.

"_This was Raido and Ibiki's group." She noticed, silently praying the two Jounin were still alive._

To her surprise the children didn't seem overly afraid of Katsu and a few asked him when they could eat or go the bathroom. He patiently told them soon before gesturing her to follow him out of the room.

She got up and promised the children she would see them again soon when they protested. They bravely nodded their heads as she walked away from them, the door was locked with chakra from the outside the moment it was closed.

The scene repeated four more times until she counted at least eighty children between five and twelve. Those younger were with their families and those older were either Genin, in which case they were under house arrest like the rest of the Shinobi, or put to work cleaning up the mess from the attack if they were civilians.

Katsu led her to a small office where he sat down and waved his hand at the other chair, indicating for her to do the same. She sat down hesitantly.

"The children and the hospital are under my direct jurisdiction." He commented. "Akatsuki cares not what I do with them, only that they are kept alive to keep their parents in line. Your friends charges are not here, are they?"

"Ile." She admitted, feeling somewhat safe. Rin and Kakashi charges had not been there either and she prayed the ANBU woman, and Kakashi's former team mate during their Genin years, had gotten them out and that they were currently in hiding.

"The little girl, Kiri-chan was her name I believe. She is a Hyuuga." It was a statement and Kurenai's blood ran cold.

"Most of the family managed to either escape or kill itself to protect the byakugan. Akatsuki has demanded that anyone found with the bloodline be turned to them for further study."

Kurenai knew where this was going and didn't like it one bit. She would sooner die then see little Kiri go through the horrors of having her body cut to pieces while still alive. She had a feeling her death was not what Katsu was looking for, but something much worse.

"And?" She forced the word out through a throat gone horribly dry with dread. "What is it you expect of me?"

"There is a large house behind yours, is there not?"

"Hai." She answered.

There was an abandoned hotel behind her house. It wouldn't fit all of the children, but twenty or so could easily move in. It also had a nice size garden for them to play in and a small kitchen. There was a small wooden gate connecting her backyard with its.

"As I am sure you are aware there are warrants for several other children of specific families. I am offering them my protection by moving them into that building where you may have access to them. My men have better things to do then baby sit and the children would be less destructive with someone they knew and trust watching over them."

Kurenai inclined her head in agreement of that statement. They were more likely to listen to her then one of Katsu's men, but why the offer in the first place? He could have just ordered it and she would not have objected. He was definitely fishing for something and she had a strong feeling she knew what it was.

"What's the catch?" She asked anyway, glad her voice sounded cold and not high and panicked like she felt.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she hastily added the 'Katsu-sama' at the end while adding more items to the list of things she was going to do to him when they counter-struck.

"Merely you." He stated.

"In what way?" She forced herself to ask, dreading the answer.

"Anyway I desire." He answered with a slight grin.

She shivered in fear and apprehension.

"Part of our agreement with Akatsuki is that the heads of the four mercenary groups and their lieutenants might take a prisoner as their own personal slave to do with as they please, with a few exceptions of course. I _could_ just force you to yield, but I would sooner allow you to decide for yourself."

That statement stunned her. He wanted her to choose?

"And if I say no?" She asked.

"I will pursue another." He admitted.

"But the children will not be safe."

"Correction, I can not guarantee their safety."

He looked at the clock on the wall and sighed.

"I have business to attend to at the hospital. You may remain here and bring the children outside and eat with them in the cafeteria. You will not leave the school grounds. Please think on my offer. I will be back at eighteen-hundred to pick you up."

Katsu stood up and walked around the desk. Kurenai kept her eyes on him, not trusting his intentions. He slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out something before setting it on the desk.

"If you do decide to take me up on my offer, put that on. You have until my return to decide."

Katsu then turned his back on her and left. She watched him leave before examining the item. It was a black choker made of silk with his clan symbol etched in red on it. She stared at it for several minutes before picking it up and wrapping it around her wrist for safekeeping until she could come to a decision, despite the fact she already knew what she was going to do.

She walked out of the office and was surprised to see all eighty some kids in the Cafeteria eating noisily. Six guards stood against the wall, watching silently, only moving to escort a kid to the bathroom when they asked politely.

The noise died when she walked in, but it didn't last long.

"Kurenai-sensei." Came several exclamations before she found herself in the center of a large group hug, Kiri and Kento at the front of it.

"Hi guys." She greeted warmly, allowing the children to lead her to a table.

Kiri took her left while Kento took her right. Both children knew her well from her visits to their respected homes to report on or pick up their cousins.

A plate of food was set in front of her by Kento, who had his chest puffed out in pride at having accomplished his self set mission. Almost at once the questions started to rain down upon her.

Where were their parents? Where they okay? Was the village okay? How long were they going to have to stay at the school? And a thousand other questions came flying at her. Everything from, 'when do we get to go home' to 'can they got outside to play.'

She answered as best she could. When the last child had eating they were permitted to go outside to the playground, ever under the watchful eyes of their guards. Unable to move well in her kimono, which she had been told repeatedly look really pretty, she sat on a bench and just watched them play.

"Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai looked down to see Kiri standing before her, looking really nervous, an equally nervous Kento beside her.

"What is it Kiri-chan?" She asked sweetly.

"My mom's probably dead, isn't she?" Kiri asked softly.

Kurenai blinked as Katsu's words came back to her. 'Most of the family managed to either escape or kill itself to protect the byakugan.'

"I don't know, but it is a possibility." She admitted sadly, refusing to lie.

Kiri looked ready to cry, but seemed determined to hold the tears back.

"If you don't know, then there is still a chance she's okay, right?" Kiri asked.

"Right." Kurenai smiled at her.

"What about Kiba-niisan?" Kento asked.

"Kiba-Kun, Hinata-chan, and Neji-kun made it out of the village." She answered.

"Really?" Kiri asked.

"Hai. And they are going to need us to be strong so we can help when they come back."

Both nodded their heads firmly, than ran off to play. She knew Kento had been close to Kiba, but she wasn't sure what Kiri thought of her two cousins. The Hyuuga family was very formal and she wondered if Kiri had even met Hinata. Hiashi had changed the family a lot in the last three years and Kiri was only six now, so perhaps she was the first of a new generation of Hyuuga that wouldn't be stuck with all the formalities Neji and Hinata had been raised on. Even Henabi was more open and less formal.

Now left alone to watch the children play, she was free to think on Katsu's offer. He was not kidding when he said many of the children had bounties on their heads just for the family they came from. One didn't stay a shinobi long without making enemies. Many of these children's parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings, and other relatives have pissed people off.

Some would be taken just for the bloodlines they had, like Kiri. She knew for a fact that Kento's family had pissed people off. Orochimaru already wanted Kiba for his interference when Sasuke had left. Just listening to some of the stories Anko had told her of Orochimaru had her fearing for Kento.

"_I don't have a choice, even if he says I do. I cannot let these children come to harm. They are the future of Konoha and one life, my life, is not as important as they are. A Shinobi's number one mission is to protect the citizens of Konoha no matter what. Accepting his offer is just another stage of that mission."_

She was fooling herself and she knew it. She truly cared about the welfare of the children, but what her mind and body did were two different things. It was one thing to know and agree to be his willing slave and follow his every command no matter how much she didn't want to, but it was another thing to actually force herself to do it.

When the time came to follow his orders, would she be able to? Or would her body freeze and betray her? Just how far was he going to test her? She was by no means a virgin, but the though of sharing his bed was not a pleasant on. What would Asuma and the others think of her sleeping with the enemy?

The thought that terrified her most was; just how did Katsu like his woman in bed? Was he the kind to inflict as much pain as possible or the kind to sit back and let others please him? She shuddered at the image both scenarios played through her mind.

Her thoughts were dragged back to the present when two of the kids started to argue over who saw what pretty flower first. Sighing, and very thankful for the distraction, Kurenai got up and dissolved the argument before it degraded into a fight.

As kids were known to do, the argument was forgotten in minutes and both girls were back to being best friends. The guards called the kids back in at seventeen hundred to clean up before eating dinner.

Realizing she had just one hour left to make up her mind before Katsu returned, she felt her bad mood returning, though she forced a smile on her face as she absently doodled on a piece of paper with a crayon. Paper and other drawing instruments had been provided to entertain the children until supper was ready.

"_He can't be that bad if he is making sure the children are this well taking care of." She thought._

No one was denied to right to use the bathroom when they asked nicely and they were kept well entertained. The food they were fed was decent and they did have mats to sleep on in the gym and blankets to cover them. The six guards were patient with the children and not one of them looked at a child in a way she didn't like.

She was surprised to notice the children called the guards by name, adding the '-san' of course, and was even more surprised to see the guards respond when addressed. She frowned at this, absently wondering what it was she really had to fear for them. They were clearly well provided for and taken care of, so Katsu's offer really had no merit.

Her eyes fell on Kiri and Kento and she knew why. The civilians were safe and sound, but those of Shinobi birth were not so protected. Orochimaru and Akatsuki were the ones in charge, not Katsu. They could easily have the children taking from him and placed elsewhere, if not sold to families with warrants out for specific family members.

She did a head count and figured fifteen of the children out of the eighty were in jeopardy. Some came from families whose parents never made it past chuunin and others were Medical Shinobi and rarely saw the field. Most of the children from Shinobi families were Genin and under house arrest.

Her gaze fell to the black chocker still wrapped around her wrist. She unwound it and stared at the symbol of Katsu's clan, or village as she recalled him saying he was a village leader.

"What's that Kurenai-sensei?" Kento asked curiously.

"Your freedom." She answered.

"Nani?" Kiri asked confused.

"Nothing. Can you help me put it on Kiri-chan?" She asked with a smile.

"Hai." Kiri chirped as she took the choker and put it on for her.

The soft silk felt like an iron collar and the near silent click of the clasp closing sounded like iron doors slamming shut. All at once she felt like a heavy burden had been placed on her shoulders.

"You look really pretty Kurenai-sensei." Several other girls chirped.

"Arigato." She forced a smile on her face for their benefit.

(break)

Katsu watched silently from the shadow of the door as Kurenai allowed the little Hyuuga girl to clasp her acceptance of slavery around her neck. He noticed her shoulders slump slightly in defeat before forcing a smile back on for the children.

He wasn't surprised she had accepted his offer. He knew she would. It was going to be fun warping her to fit his needs. It had been a long time since he had last got to play with one as beautiful as she was, and they had all been civilians. It was going to be fun working on, not just a shinobi, but also a full-fledged Jounin.

He had a few exiled Jounin in his own village, but most of the exiled shinobi were chuunin or genin. His village specialized in medicine and poisons, which was how Orochimaru had found them three years ago. Kabuto was originally from his village and thus, knew about it. His village was small, no bigger then fifteen thousand inhabitants at any time.

The village was funded by the mercenary core, a group of field medics hired by others to care for their wounded, interrogate prisoners, determine causes of unknown deaths, and even to unlock bloodlines.

He did not enjoy physical torture so much as he enjoyed mentally playing with his targets. Children were not permitted to be targets by his own command. The innocent deserved to remain so. Adults were free game.

The clock on the wall showed it to be eighteen hundred. The children were giving their dinner and Kurenai stood up, looking around the hall and finally noticed him for the first time.

She stiffened and didn't move until he gestured for her to come to him. She politely excused herself from the children, who ignored her in favour of food, before walking up to join him.

(break)

Kurenai followed him back to her house, the scent of various dinners on the wind. To her surprise, they stopped at a small food stand, where he mentioned her to sit. She hesitated before complying, wondering what it was he wanted now.

The owner of this shop and his staff all wore the blue uniforms the civilians were forced to, and while they didn't look terrified, they didn't look too overly cheerful either.

"What can I get you?" A young woman asked, glancing at Kurenai, clearly recognizing her.

"_Isn't that Shino's cousin?" She wondered, positive she had seen the young woman at Shino's house before._

"I'll have miso soup." Katsu stated calmly. "Kurenai-chan?"

"The same." She stated.

The young girl nodded her head and left.

"I see you decided to take me up on my offer." He stated, crossing his hands and resting his chin on them.

"The children will be moved to the abandoned hotel behind my house and I will be permitted to see them whenever I wish?"

"Only if it does not interfere with my desires. And slaves do not own property, so the house is mine, not yours."

She held back the sharp retort that she wanted to spew at him by shear force of will alone and added some more revenge ideas to her growing list. When she was done with him there wasn't going to be enough left for Shino's kikai.

"I can leave the house?"

"You will remain on the property belonging to me. You will wear a different kimono when you leave the house, it will be provided tomorrow. If you leave the house without it, the guards will kindly ask you to return to the house."

By kindly, she was sure he meant rather violently and unhurriedly.

"I trust you will at least try to be obedient?"

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She answered.

"Good. Your friends will not know of our arrangement. Keep that chocker on and never take it off. It allows others to know I have claimed you and will enable you to move through Konoha unescorted without being molested or killed when I permit it. Understand?"

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

He continued to lay down new rules and guidelines for her to follow. Not only was she more restricted; she had more freedom at the same time. She was free to move between the hotel and the house, but she had rules as to when she could move between them. Rules on what to tell the kids, and even more rules as to what she would be doing when.

If the boys didn't know about this new relationship, they would damn well find out fast by their own abilities to look beneath the underneath. She restrained from pointing that out to him.

Dinner was served sometime between what she was permitted to talk to the children about and where she was to be at what time. Other subjects he mentioned would be explained as they arouse.

"Any questions, Kurenai-chan?"

"Hai. I do have one, Katsu-sama, but it is off topic."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but waved his hand in permission to continue.

"We are out of groceries." She stated, pulling the list out and setting it on the table.

He chuckled as he took the list.

"Breakfast was the last of it?"

"I think there was some canned soup they could use for lunch, but other then that, the pantries are dry."

"Very well. I will see to it that you will be escorted to acquire food tomorrow."

He stood up and she followed his lead. Instead of leaving money he left a token and the waitress didn't complain. Apparently the civilians had a different talk then the shinobi did.

It was dark by the time they made it back to the house. The four men looked up at them from around the coffee table as they walked in. It looked like they were playing poker and Kakashi was winning again.

"Welcome back Kurenai." Gai greeted loudly.

Katsu walked past her up to his room, ignoring them. She took that as a dismissal and joined her friends at the table. Geki, the guard, raised an eyebrow when he spotted the chocker, but didn't say anything.

"Katsu-sama gave me permission to get some food tomorrow." She stated as Asuma dealt her a hand and Kakashi generously donated some of his chips for her to use. "What are we playing for?"

"The last can of food." Asuma answered, pointing at the can of baby corn on the table.

"I had baby corn? I don't even like it." She stated.

"Regardless of how it came to be, it is the last of the food in this house." Kakashi stated, moving his cards around in his hand, face blank as ever.

They played for several rounds until it came down to her verses Kakashi. Geki left to eat out and Gai and Asuma started rooting through anything and everything to find more food.

The game ended when twenty-two hundred arrived. She handed the can over to Kakashi, having already eaten anyway. Asuma and Gai had managed to find a bag of dried fruit and ate that.

Geki had returned at some point and was already in his room when the clock chimed. The tolling of the hour felt like a death toll to her. She forced a smile on her face and bid the boys goodnight before walking up the stairs, cursing the damn kimono as she did so, and stopping at the door to her, HIS, room.

"Come in." Katsu stated after she had stood there for several minutes.

She forced a hesitating hand to slide the door open and stepped in, sliding it shut behind her. She forced herself to turn and look at him. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and she wouldn't be surprised to find out he could hear it.

Katsu was in bed already. He was lying on his side with his head resting on one hand. Gulping, she forced herself to walk to the dresser and pull out the sleepwear that had been provided for her. There was no way she would be permitted to sleep in the Kimono.

She took the jewellery off and put it in her small box before picking up the white outfit and heading for the door again.

"Where are you going?" Katsu asked calmly.

"To get changed for bed, Katsu-sama." She answered through gritted teeth.

"You do not need to leave to do that."

She froze, one hand resting on the door.

"I need to wash the makeup off." She tried after several frantic seconds of trying to find a reason to leave.

"You can do that in the morning." He countered.

No matter what excuse she came up with, she knew he would be able to counter it. Keeping her back turned to him, she untied the obi, let her kimono fall open, and pulled the pants on. She slipped her arms out of the sleeves, but left it resting on her shoulders, as she pulled the top on.

Completely clothed, she ignored his chuckles as she folded the kimono and obi before placing it in her drawer.

"So shy, little Kurenai-chan?"

She choose not to answer as she closed the drawer and only then noticed her bed on the floor had not been set up. An all-new level of fear hit her. Hesitantly, she walked towards the bed and noticed the handcuff was missing as well.

(break)

"You look confused, Kurenai-chan." Katsu chuckled. "We did make an agreement last night, did we not? 'If bedding you was the only way to make sure the children of this village were safe, I would.' Were those not your exact words?" He smirked at her.

The look of horror that spread across her face was beautiful. Her eyes darted around like a trapped animal looking for a way out. He moved over in the bed, silently inviting her to join him. She was frozen to the spot and it was clear her mind was in shock.

"We did make a deal, did we not? Don't tell me you are going back on it already." He pushed.

Her back stiffened at the challenge to her honour.

"A shinobi of Konoha always keeps his or her word." She retorted, a hint of fire in her eyes again.

Her body trembled as she crawled into the small bed with him. She lay down stiffly on her side with her back facing him and as close to the edge as was possible. Her defiance was amusing and it was going to be fun to twist her into his image.

"You get the wall." He stated with a grin.

She turned to glare at him. He laid on his back in the center of the small bed and gestured to his other side. Now the dilemma started to war across her face and he enjoyed ever minute of it.

In order to get to that side of the bed, she would have to crawl over him, leaving her self completely open to him. Finally, that fire came back and she crawled over him to get to the other side, immediately pressing her back to the wall and curling up to protect herself.

Grinning, he added the last bit of torture for the night. To go any further would send her into a fit of anger.

"You forgot to turn the light out."

He could see it. The conflict in her eyes as her hatred boiled and she forced it down by shear will alone. Yes, any further and she would snap. It was enough for tonight. She did a good job of holding her snarl back, but she did crawl back over him to turn the light off, waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, then obediently climbed back into bed.

"Goodnight, Kurenai-chan."

When she didn't say anything, he turned to face her with a warning look.

"Goodnight, Katsu-sama." She snapped at him.

He had no doubt in his mind she didn't sleep a wink that night, no doubt fearing he would be all over her the moment she fell asleep. That was not how he operated. When he finally would taste her, it would be when she least expected it and would be in no condition to protest.

He had no doubt in his mind that taking her now would be like taking a wooden board. No, he intended to enjoy her when she was ripe for the picking, when her defences were down. That wouldn't be for a while yet. Katsu was a very patient man.

* * *

I don't plan to bring in too many of my own characters into the front light. The only ones at this point of any importance are Katsu, Inuzuka Kento and Hyuuga Kiri. Others will have continuing appearances, like Geki, but they will not be important to the story line. I do not often go to the point of view of my own characters. 

Extra thanks to:

Dragonzair, for reviewing every chapter so far.

Special thanks to:

Baku sensei, Queen Dopplepoppleous, The Gandhara, Teal Colored Eyes, and Atropa 13 for reviewing the last chapter. I appreciate it.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 6

Operations and bugs

Two days of peace had passed with no sign of their pursuers. Kiba was healing nicely, but still restricted to extreme light duty. Sakura was looking at his stitches now. His wound was clean and nicely scabbed up with no signs of infection.

"How's your head?" Sakura asked.

"Fine."

"No headaches?"

"Ile."

"Good. A few more days and we can take the stitches out. Hinata's ointment seems to be working well." Sakura commented as she spread some more of it on his wound before binding it up again.

Kiba thanked her as he pulled his shirt back on, winching a little as his wound pulled. Sakura cleaned up her supplies before heading over to sit next to Hinata, who was grinding some of the herbs they had found into a paste.

She took out a scroll and pen and recorded the supplies she had used and what she had done to Kiba and his current condition. She had already checked on Neji earlier and he still hadn't woken up since they had started this nightmare, perhaps for the best.

Neji's condition constantly shifted. He was slowly recovering, but would relapse when the infection in his lungs would come back. The poison had yet to leave his system and it had been five days since he had been infected. She was starting to get worried. Maybe Shino's bugs could suck it out or something. She would ask him when he got back from patrolling.

The children were in the back of the cave with Iruka and the nine genin, throwing shirukens at wooden targets made from deadfall and practicing their skills in an attempt to keep them distracted from their rumbling tummies and their budding fear and homesickness.

Naruto, Shino, and Genma were out patrolling and gathering food and herbs. It was not easy feeding forty-seven people without making their presence known. Shikamaru and Temari had been able to bring down two deer yesterday. Deer around here were not big and they had not lasted long.

With no way of knowing how long they were going to be on the run, nothing went to waste. The bones were sharpened and turned into kunai and shuirken by Tenten. Shikamaru was able to start tanning the hides and was carving the antlers into weapons. She was amazed at how much Shikamaru knew about deer before remembering his family raised some.

Temari and Shikamaru were currently talking quietly in a corner, seeming to be deep in a discussion, most likely about what to do once they felt it safe to move on or what to do if they were to be discovered.

Sasuke had left yesterday to return to Konoha to see what he could learn, to get something resembling food and to gather more medical supplies and other gear they would need for long-term survival.

Tenten and Ino were currently on guard and Choji was cooking deer stew with the rest of the meat and some dried vegetables Temari had left over in her bag from when they had went after Gaara.

Lee, Gaara, and Kankurou were resting until it would be their time to scout.

A weak coughing coming from the nest of jackets and blankets caught her attention at once. She dropped what she was doing and rushed to the pile.

"Neji?" She called softly.

White eyes squinted up to look at her in confusion.

"Sakura? Where am I?" He asked weakly

Neji tried to sit up, but Sakura placed a hand on his chest and forced him back down.

"We are in a cave to the southwest of Konoha. When you got back with Shikamaru after rescuing Gaara-sama, we were attacked and forced to retreat. You have been asleep for four days.

"Don't move yet. You had broken ribs and your lung was punctured. You are currently fighting off a bad infection and whatever poison is circulating through your system hasn't showed any signs of leaving. Do you know what kind of poison it is?"

"Ile." He answered, coughing weakly again.

"Does anything hurt?"

"My chest feels really tight and my lungs are burning. I feel like I have a fever and my throat is dry."

She nodded her head as she reached into her small medical pouch and pulled out a thermometer and her flashlight.

His temperature was high so she ordered Hinata to get some water and a cloth. Hinata had dropped what she doing the moment she had heard Neji's cough.

Sakura shined her light into his eyes and ordered him to follow it. He did, though wincing as if the light hurt.

"Headache?" She asked.

"Slightly. At the base of my skull where the poisoned needle got me."

"Right. Roll over onto your side, but stop and warn me if your pain worsens."

He shifted to his side and Sakura brushed his hair out of the way to take a look at the puncture on his neck. She frowned when she saw no sign of a puncture and rubbed the area with a finger.

Neji screamed in pain, causing her, and everyone else in the cave, to jump in surprise. Lee, Gaara and Kankurou had jumped awake and were on their feet, ready to defend themselves, Gaara's suna was even swirling defensively around him.

Heart slowly slowing down, she frowned, wondering what on earth had caused him such pain.

"Neji, what happened? Did you roll onto your ribs?" She demanded in worry.

"Ile." He whimpered out. "It was my neck. A sharp shooting pain when you touched it." He answered.

Sakura frowned. There had been no mark or anything to indicate a wound. Hinata had come back by then, a look of concern on her face. Sakura got her to look with the Byakugan, but Hinata saw nothing to indicate anything was wrong at the base of his neck, than gasped when she noticed something else.

"What is it?" Sakura demanded.

"His chakra system is deteriorating." She answered.

"How? In what way?"

"More of his points are shut down and the flow is messed up."

"Nani?"

"Oi, we were able to hear the scream for miles you know." Came an irritated voice from the entrance.

Sakura looked up to see Shino, Naruto and Genma had returned from scouting.

"What are you doing, torturing him?" Naruto asked.

Sakura glared at him before turning her attention back to Neji. He had rolled back onto his back and Hinata was placing a cold compress to his forehead. He was sweating and breathing hard, no doubt the scream hurt his lungs.

Lee, Gaara and Kankurou shared a look with the Shino, Naruto and Genma before heading out to pick up where they had left off. Sakura ignored them and forced Neji to drink one of Hinata's potions used for sore throats.

"Are you positive it was a needle that got you?" She asked when Neji's breathing had calmed down a bit and he wasn't whimpering in pain anymore.

"I think it was. When I went to remove it, it had already fallen out." He answered in a pain filled stutter.

"So you aren't sure it was a needle?" She asked again.

"Ile."

"Shino." Sakura called.

"Why Shino-kun?" Hinata asked confused.

"I have a theory. The poison should have left Neji's system by now, or at least diluted since it came from an outside source, but it has stayed the same. There was no sign of a needle or puncture of any sort. So something must be continuing to pump the poison in. And the chakra system is shutting down, and I know that is not from the poison."

"There is something inside of me?" He asked with a hint of panic.

"It's only a theory."

"Nani, Sakura?" Shino asked as he walked up them.

"How extensive is your knowledge of insects and their poisons?" She asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her and sat down next to them.

"Very large." He admitted.

"Good. Is there an insects that can be used to mess up a persons chakra control and shut it down from the inside?"

Shino frowned.

"Hai, I know of a few insects that can do this, but I need more information to narrow down which one it could be."

"What do you need? I could get a blood sample and try to narrow down the poison if that would help?"

"What are his exact conditions?"

Sakura filled him in as Hinata replaced the cold compress on Neji's forehead.

Shino listened quietly to Sakura's in depth analysis of Neji's condition, separating for him what she believed to be trauma from his wounds from what she believed to be caused by this bug, but still telling him everything just encase it might help.

"His chakra holes are shutting down, and the lines are deteriorating?" He asked Hinata when Sakura finished.

Hinata reactivated her byakugan and explained exactly what she saw, starting from the neck and working her way down. Most of the damage was around his wounds and upper body.

His ribs were healing nicely and the infection was down, but without his chakra the healing was going slow. The damage to his chakra points didn't look like it was healing at all and even looked like it was deteriorating.

Neji remained silent, but Sakura could tell he was holding back panic by a thread. Without his chakra he was useless, and he had made many enemies over the years that would love to pay him back.

"Most likely it is a Chakara." Shino finally stated several minutes later.

"What is a Chakara and how do we get rid of it?" Sakura asked, dragging out a fresh notebook and turning to the fourth page in, writing Chakara at the top. "And can you draw a picture of it later?"

"Hai. A Chakara is a rare bug native to a clan in the deep jungles that act similarly to my Kikai. They burrow into the back of a persons neck and settle in at the vertebra just beneath the skin and start laying eggs."

"Eggs?" Neji asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

"The young hatch and start attacking the chakra points of a persons body by consuming it and bringing it back to their queen. The queen instigated herself into the spinal column of the host and remains there, causing extreme amounts of pain when disturbed."

"We found that out the hard way." Sakura mumbled, jolting down everything Shino said as fast as possible.

"Once the chakra of the host has been consumed, the young leave the body to find new host for them selves. Without chakra to feed on, they die."

"So that's why it slowed down a bit and Neji was able to heal some when Hinata sealed the damaged chakra points earlier. We probably killed a lot of them off when their food supply was suddenly cut short." Sakura stated.

"Hai."

"Is it fatal?" She asked worried.

Neji's eyes widened in momentary panic. This was one enemy he could not fight.

"Ile. The host will just be out of chakra as any amount made will be eating." Shino answered.

Neji relaxed a little.

Sakura was also relieved to know that her patient wasn't in any imminent danger. She had to find a way to kill all of the creatures at once without hurting Neji.

"So what if we shut all of the chakra points off and seal him?" She suggested.

Shino seemed to think for a moment.

"It is worth a try." He finally stated.

"Right." Sakura pulled out a piece of paper and wrote what they were doing on it. "Hinata-chan."

Hinata nodded her head in understanding.

"Neji, we are going to seal your chakra points in an attempt to kill off as many of the offspring as we can. Understand?"

"Hai." He answered.

"Alright. Hinata-chan."

"Gomen." She whispered as she started sealing his points, starting with the outer ones still uninfected to prevent migration and working her way in.

Her touches were feather light, but Neji still winched on a few. When Hinata finished, Sakura performed a few seals and started to check his systems to make sure no damage had been done now that his chakra was sealed.

He seemed fine and the poison, if that was indeed what it was, was slowly starting to dissipate.

"It seems to be working." Sakura commented, jolting it down on the paper she had ripped out. "Is there anyway to get the queen out?"

"You could surgically remove it." Shino suggested.

Sakura sat back and seemed to think about it.

"Hinata-chan, now that you know the queen is there, can you see it?" Sakura asked.

"I'll try." Hinata promised as she looked again.

There was an intense silence for several minutes while Hinata searched.

"There." Hinata finally said. "It's hidden between the first and second vertebrae and she isn't very big. That's why I kept missing it. It blends in. The young must be too small to see."

Sakura nodded and jolted it down on her scrap piece of paper.

"Will removing the queen have any averse effects on the host?" She asked Shino.

"It shouldn't." He answered.

"Alright."

"Do you have the supplies to do something like a surgery here?" Shikamaru asked, having been watching silently with Temari since Sakura had called Shino over.

Finally looking away from her patient, she noticed everyone but those scouting and guarding had been watching and listening silently.

"I should be able to. If it is deemed too risky, we could leave it until we get to Suna, but we have no idea how long that is going to take. Neji will be unable to heal, let alone fight, while it is still in as we are going to have to keep his chakra points sealed. The main question is; what is more important? Getting Neji in fighting condition again as soon as possible, or the large amount of medical supplies I am going to use up doing this?"

"Get it out." Neji answered immediately.

"I don't have everything truly needed for a surgery here. The best I can do it use a local anaesthetic to kill off the feeling of me cutting open his neck to get to the queen, but the queen is integrated into his spinal column so she most likely will send that shooting agony through his system again when I start to disturb her. I can't stop that and if he starts thrashing around I could do more damage then good, not to mention his screaming will be heard for miles."

"I'll put him to sleep." Naruto offered.

"That might work, but the agony will most likely wake him up." She pointed out.

"We can get Gaara to hold him down with his suna." Temari offered.

"Can you quit talking about me like I am not here." Neji complained.

"Quiet, we are thinking." Naruto hushed him.

Neji tried to get up, but Hinata and Sakura stopped that from happening with a firm hand on either one of his shoulders.

"Uzumaki." Neji hissed.

"Just blame fate for your current condition. You use to be good at that." Naruto grinned down at him.

"Enough." Sakura snapped before things could degrade. "Are we going to remove the queen or not?"

"Hai." Neji stated firmly.

Sakura looked to Shikamaru.

"It's your call." He stated after several seconds of contemplation.

"Alright. Neji, do you trust Gaara-sama enough to let him hold you down with his suna? If you thrash at a bad time I could kill you or leave you permanently paralyzed."

He was silent for several minutes before nodding his head in agreement.

"Good. Now this is what I am going to do. I am going to use a local anaesthetic to numb the back of you neck. Then I am going to have to cut my way down to the queen. Last time we disturbed her it sent you into that blinding agony. There is a good chance that will happen here again as I cannot prevent it. I am going to have to extract the queen and clean out any eggs I find. This could take a while depending on how the queen is imbedded in and you may have to live with the agony for several minutes. Understand?"

"Hai."

"Alright. For the moment just rest while I get things set up."

"I'll go find Gaara-kun." Naruto offered as he left.

"Did you guys find any food?" Temari asked Shino and Genma.

Both men shook their heads in the negative, but did hand over full water bags.

Sakura and Hinata cleaned up a flat area on the floor and laid down some blankets and one of the tinfoil emergency blankets Iruka happened to have in the small first aid kit on his belt. They would need it to catch the blood.

Sakura had water boiled and sterilized everything she was going to need, including her hands and Hinata's. When everything was set, Shikamaru and Shino moved Neji over, taking his jacket and shirt off in the process.

The circular scars on his shoulder and back mirrored the ones in the front. The only marks to mar his skin and leave silent testimony to the hardest fight of his life. His headband and wraps were removed were also removed.

"I am going to have to cut some of your hair."

"Do it."

She pulled out a kunai and shaved the back part of his head, leaving the front so he would be able to cover the shaved area afterwards.

"How do you feel?"

"My chest hurts a little and I feel like a weigh a few hundred pounds. I also feel drained." He answered.

Genma and Iruka finished hanging blankets off of some rope tied to kunai imbedded into the walls to offer them some privacy as Gaara and Naruto returned. Sakura explained what was going on and asked for his assistance.

Gaara merely nodded his head as suna poured out of his gourd and settled around Neji. Neji stiffened at first, but slowly started to relax when nothing happened. Hinata had mixed a few herbs in a bowl of boiling water and was cleaning the back of his neck where the operation was to take place with it. When she was done, Sakura knelt by his side while Hinata knelt next to Sakura, their medical supplies laid orderly out.

"Alright, we are beginning. I am going to inject the local anaesthetic first. You will feel a prick at the back of your neck."

Hinata accepted the wooden bit Kiba and Akamaru had found for Neji to bite onto if the queen started sending him pain. Neji let her put it in his mouth before Hinata sat to the side, passing Sakura instruments as she needed them.

Sakura walked Neji through each of the steps, letting him know what she was doing before she did it. The operation went smoothly as she parted the tissue and spotted the queen and what appeared to be her nest. The queen reminded her of one of those ant-lions Temari had shown her in a book of creatures in the dessert.

She cleaned the eggs she could get to out first, scraping them out and into a jar with formaldehyde to kill them and preserve them for further study. She managed to pry out a few young too, each the size of a flea.

"Alright, I am going to start on the queen now. Ready?" She asked, pausing in her work.

He nodded his head slightly, the wooden bit preventing speech.

The moment her instrument touched the queen, Neji's teeth bit down hard enough to cause splinters in the bit and he started to violently fight his restraints. Sakura worked as quickly as she could, severing the tentacles the queen had latched onto his neck before removing it and placing it in a different jar with formaldehyde.

The moment the last tentacle had been cut free from Neji, he collapsed, his breathing laboured and sweat pouring down his face. Sakura removed the last of the tentacles and eggs imbedded in his system before stitching up the cut, putting some of Hinata's healing salve on it, and bandaging it up.

"Done." She said, wiping sweat off of her own brow.

The entire procedure had taken forty-eight minutes. Her back was sore from leaning over him and her mouth was dry. She didn't complain as she and Hinata cleaned up the supplies they had used while Shikamaru and Shino moved Neji up against a wall so he could sit up and get something to eat.

When she was done cleaning up, she took her new notes and leaned up against a different wall, recording what she had done in her medical log in precise detail.

"Here, Sakura-chan."

Sakura looked up in surprise to see Lee holding out a bowl of deer stew for her.

"Lee-kun?" She blinked shocked, then noticed everyone was back and the blankets were strung up over the door to cover the light of their small campfire.

She took the offered bowl of stew and set her book aside.

"Arigato." She smiled at him.

Lee smiled back.

"I heard what you did for Neji-kun today. I wish I could have seen it. You're amazing Sakura-chan."

"It was nothing." She waved the comment away.

"Ile, it was amazing. There are few medical shinobi who could do what you did on the field without hesitation." Lee insisted.

"Arigato, Lee-kun." She smiled; taking a bite out of her stew by using a kunai to spear the meat.

He blushed slightly as he settled against the wall beside her. Sakura giggled and finished her stew.

"What are you working on?" He asked.

"The medical logs. If something were to happen to me or if I forget I can look back and see what I did to whom, when who is injured and unable to do stuff yet. I am also keeping track of our medical supplies and I am going to start that book on insects and how to counter them, hopefully with Shino's help." She answered.

"A good idea. I heard Shikamaru made you Head Medical Specialist for our little adventure."

"Hai. So, when do you think those two will make it official?" Sakura asked, setting her bowl aside and staring intently at Temari and Shikamaru.

Both of them were poring over a small map of the region, making and discarding plans of action, heads all but touching.

"They make a cute couple." Sakura giggled.

"It would do wonder for relations between Konoha and Suna." Lee agreed.

"I think Tsunade-sama may be negotiating with Gaara-sama to make it official." Sakura grinned. "I know Shikamaru-kun's mother's involved in there somewhere."

"I see. No wonder he volunteered to rescue Gaara-san."

Sakura shared a laugh with him.

"It is late, we should be getting to bed. I have guard duty later tonight."

"Shikamaru-kun said you and Hinata-chan are off guard duty unless if the situation gets desperate."

"I see." Sakura stretched and yawned. "I am going to check on Neji, then get some rest."

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan."

"Goodnight, Lee-Kun." She smiled down at him before heading over to where Neji was nestled down in a pile of Jackets, the blankets being shared by the kids and being used to block the light of the fire.

Shikamaru and Shino had helped him change into clean clothes after stripping him of the ones he was wearing and cleaning them. They had helped him freshen up before forcing him back to bed, the small amount of exertion exhausting him.

"Neji?" She called softly.

Pale white eyes opened and he looked up at her. She sat down next to him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"My neck hurts." He admitted. "As does my chest. My throat is still raw and sore."

She nodded her head in understanding.

"I'll get Hinata-chan to give you some painkillers."

She preformed a few seals and ran her chakra through his systems. All signs of the Chakara were gone. His body was healing as expected of one without any chakra. She soothed the swelling in his throat and gave him a bit of her chakra to get his systems up and running again.

"Feel better?" She asked, exhaustion clearly showing in her voice.

"Hai. Arigato. You should get some rest."

"I plan to. You get some sleep to. Another few days of rest and you should be on your feet again, but don't push anything. I already gave Kiba-kun the speech, so now it's your turn.

"We have no safe house to get to and medical supplies are not that big. Do not push yourself too hard to prove some useless point. I could heal you completely, but that would leave me drained of Chakra for several days and as the only medical specialist with us, we cannot afford to run me dry when we do not know what the next minute will bring us.

"If I catch you doing any foolish heroics or pushing yourself past the limit, I can and will incapacitate you to the point were you wont be able to walk until I deem you fit enough to move. Understand?"

"Hai."

"Good. Get some rest. If you start feeling worse, wake me up immediately."

She stood up and left, walking past Hinata as she did so before crawling into a warm bed recently vacated by Ino, who was on guard duty again, this time with Choji. With only so many spare blankets, everyone had to take turns resting or sleep together like the children did.

* * *

Well, Neji is now on the road to recovery and Kiba is almost back to full health. Next chapter; Sasuke makes it to Konoha while Kurenai learns were some of the others Shinobi are being held. This was the shortest chapter I think. 

I am so glad that people both hate and like Katsu, that was what I was going for. Glad I suceeded. Unfortunatly Kurenai has a lot more torture coming up, but Katsu is not an abusive man, so you don't need to worry about him beating her. He's minipultive, not dominaring.

Not much interaction between Asuma and Kurenai will be up. There will be the odd moment, but otherwise Katsu and the children will keep her too busy to spend much time with the boys. The only children under her care giving names and of any importance are Hyuuga Kiri and Inuzuka Kento. Trying to keep OC's to a minumim at this point, unfortunatly there will be a lot later on, but I will cull the ranks to a few that take centere stage. The rest will be background charactors.

Big thanks to Queen Dopplepoppleous, Dragonzair, Teal Colored Eyes, NissanNut, and The Gandhara for thier great reviews.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 7

Konoha

The village looked normal to an outside observer, but Sasuke knew better. The villagers wore blue, the incapacitated Shinobi wore white, and those still deemed dangerous even with their chakra sealed wore black.

He hunted down Kabuto first, not surprised to find the medical specialist at the hospital treating those wounded during the attack, both attackers and defenders. It had been five days since Konoha fell. The village was being repaired by the civilians and sealed Genin. The civilians wisely kept their head down and the smarter of the Genin kept the hot headed ones in line so fights and scuffles were rare and far between.

"Kabuto-san." Sasuke addressed the medical specialist as he walked out of a room where a young girl, a sealed Konoha Genin judging by the headband and apparent age, had broken her arm while trying to walk on a platform before falling.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. Back so soon? Did you deliver my message?"

"Hai. They are better then I thought. Shikamaru is leading them so they are not going to be easy prey. I am going to need long term supplies to properly hunt them down."

"I see. I will make sure a proper traveling bag is ready for you then. Is their anything else I can do?"

"I would like to speak with their senseis. Maybe they will know where they are heading and will have the best chance of reading their movement."

"They are being held at Kurenai-sensei's house. I will make sure you are expected."

"Arigato. Kabuto-san."

Sasuke left, knowing Kabuto would do as promised. If it was one thing Sasuke had learned over the years dealing with him, it was that Kabuto lived for throwing kinks into Orochimaru's plans while pushing them along for his own desires at the same time.

He had to stop and think about where Kurenai lived before making his way to her house. She was one of the few teachers that didn't live in an apartment.

(break)

"Will you make your move already Gai." Asuma grumbled.

"You are taking forever, Gai-sensei." Kiri complained.

"Just move already." Kento added.

"Yeah." A few of the other kids chimed in.

"Alright. Kakashi, do you have any fours?" Gai asked dramatically.

"Ile, go fish." Kakashi answered coolly.

"Damn. Just what I would expect out of my eternal rival." Gai proclaimed as he picked up a card from the large deck, which was several decks stacked into one to accommodate all nineteen of the players.

"My turn. Kento-kun, do you have any aces?" Kurenai asked pleasantly.

"Darn." The young boy complained, handing over the card before scratching Inuki, his own, six-month old partner Kurenai had managed to convince Katsu to let him have with him. The other Inuzuka dogs were locked up in a kennel with many of the other shinobi familiars.

The game was halted when one of the guards came in and sternly told the children they had to leave since the adults were needed for something.

Being of Shinobi heritage they knew better then to argue. Katsu-sama would probably get into trouble if the others found out he was hiding them from the bad men and women who had warrants out for them.

Kurenai hated the man, but respected his apparent love and care for children. All fifteen of the children placed under her care were well provided for and all eighty some odd children under his wing called him by name and showed no fear of him. They were lucky they did not know the man as she did.

He had yet to force anything on her short of sharing his bed, but she knew he was just biding his time. She hated sharing his bed, but a deal was a deal and he did not attempt to grope her at night, so she felt relatively safe sleeping.

Kurenai cleaned up the cards, absently sorting them into their respective decks while wondering why they had been separated. Surely Katsu would not be coming back and demanding her attention yet. It was too early to have left the hospitable.

"You look nice in that Kimono you know." Asuma commented as he brought in a platter of meat, cheese, and bread he had been working on while she cleaned up.

The current one she was wearing was white with pink Sakura blossoms on it. It was but one of five Katsu had giving her to wear. The white garments she had originally been provided had been removed.

She hated the darn things. Sure she looked great in them, but she couldn't kick properly, or even run for that matter. And it set her apart from the others. So far they haven't pressed for information, or commented on the black silk chocker she was wearing. She knew they had noticed it instantly.

The front door opened and closed, indicating someone had walked in. All four of them turned to face the kitchen door, though none of them expected the person who walked in.

"Hi, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke greeted them.

"Sasuke!" Gai shouted loudly.

"Long time no see, Kurenai-Sensei, Asuma-sensei, Gai-sensei." He greeted them, his eyes lingered on her longer then the others when they spotted her chocker and different clothes.

"Why are you here?" Kakashi asked calmly.

"To kill time. Kabuto-san is getting a travel bag ready for me to bring to the others. I though you would want to know how they were doing." Sasuke answered as he leaned against the doorframe.

"You have seen the others?" Gai demanded loudly.

"Hai. I just came from them."

"How are they doing?" Kurenai asked, hand absently going to her chocker to cover it from his gaze.

"They were worn out and nearly out of Chakra, but we found a cave to rest in and they are recovering. If things go well I should rejoin them in two days. Kiba had a bad cut in his stomach, but Sakura treated it and it is just a mater of time before he heals. Neji, on the other hand, was not doing so good. But I have confidence Sakura will be able to care for him now that they are stopped and rested.

"Everyone seems to be okay. They are very low on supplies, but I think Shikamaru plans on staying in that cave until everyone is in top form, giving them some time to gather food and supplies. Temari says once they hit the desert food and water will be scarce so they need to get as much as possible.

"The children are frightened, but under control. Konohamaru, Henabi, and Iruka-sensei seem to keep them in line."

"Henabi-chan is with them?" Kurenai demanded.

"All nine of this years Genin are with them." Sasuke answered.

"What Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU are unaccounted for?" Kakashi asked.

"The only two I know of are an ANBU woman named Rin, and Hyuuga Hiashi. I know Gai's group is still running free as well."

"What is your mission?" Kakashi asked.

"To bring back Temari, Shikamaru and Neji for Orochimaru. He was impressed they were able to beat his four warriors."

Kurenai felt a hint of dread run through her. Orochimaru was powerful and she didn't doubt for a moment that the kids would stand no chance against him of he decided he wanted them.

"What of Kiba-kun, Lee-kun, Choji-kun, and Kankurou-san?" She demanded.

"Kiba, being an Inuzuka, is already promised to one of the mercenary bands or something. Akatsuki already claims Gaara and Naruto. Orochimaru has no use for a Puppet master or Brute strength. It's Shikamaru and Temari's brains he wants, along with Neji's Byakugan."

They absorbed that in silence.

"What do you plan on doing, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked.

"I only went to Orochimaru to gain more power. I have no further use of him, but I do plan on playing his game at the moment. I have also established myself deeply into his network, so brining him down won't be overly difficult."

"A spy." Asuma commented.

"By Tsunade-sama's orders?" Gai asked.

"Ile. Only Naruto knew about it."

"How do we know you are not lying to us?" Asuma demanded. "I see no reason why we should trust you."

Sasuke grinned as he pulled something out of his pocket and held it before him.

"That's…" Kakashi started.

"My forehead protector that Naruto scratched with his Rasengan when we fought three years ago. He said he was holding on to it for me since he knew I would want it back."

"Is that true?" Kurenai asked.

"Hai." Kakashi agreed. "You are heading back to them now?"

Sasuke merely nodded his head in answer.

"Who is in that group right now?" Asuma asked.

Sasuke named them off in order of rank.

"Genma-san is with them?" Kurenai asked in surprise.

"All of the rookie-nine, Gai's team, and the sand trio are together?" Asuma demanded.

"It must be Tsunade-sama's work." Kakashi stated. "If anyone would stand a good chance at a counter strike, it is them. Who is in charge?"

Sasuke frowned.

"It is hard to say. Shikamaru and Temari tend to do most of the planning and organizing, but when they were down and out, Naruto was the one in charge. Shikamaru, Temari and Naruto seem to flawless play off one another. Iruka-sensei's primary concern is the children and Genma-san seems to be sitting back and letting them handle it."

"I see." Kakashi leaned back in his chair, clearly deep in thought.

The front door opened and closed again and everyone snapped to attention.

"Here you go, Sasuke-kun." Kabuto handed Sasuke over a large bag of stuff before turning his attention to the four teachers.

He raised an eye when he spotted Kurenai, but otherwise made no comment.

"That should last you guys a while. I added some stuff for Sakura-chan, she'll know what its for. You said that she claimed Neji-kun wasn't recovering and that his chakra system wasn't restoring itself?" Kabuto asked.

"Hai." Sasuke agreed.

Kabuto nodded his head as if a question had been answered.

"One of Akatsuki's members has access to the Chakara. I included a book on it for Sakura-chan, as well as some antidotes for the more common poisons the mercenaries and we use. The only way to remove the Chakara queen is to do so surgically. The queen should be nestled between the first and second vertebra. To kill off all of the offspring they are going to have to get Hinata-chan to seal off his chakra points.

"Tell her to make sure the queen isn't disturbed as it will cause blinding pain in the victim. I included some poisons that should knock Neji-kun out long enough for her to surgically remove it. Since she was trained by Tsunade-hime, I trust she will be able to do a field surgery successfully.

"If they are wondering, Tsunade-hime is fine, just under house arrest like everyone else, as is Jiraiya and the two elders." Kabuto finished.

"Who is their caretaker?" Kakashi asked.

"The leader of Akatsuki." Kabuto answered.

"What of Anko?" Kurenai demanded.

"Orochimaru-sama has her much like Katsu has you." Kabuto answered cryptically.

Kurenai felt her heart all but stop. The men assumed Anko was being a child ward like Kurenai was, but she knew better. She just hoped Anko could last until they got Konoha free.

"_If it is anyone who knows what to expect from Orochimaru, it's her. She will be fine."_ She thought determined.

"I must leave. The sooner I get this supplies to the others, the better." Sasuke stated.

"Say hi to Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan for me. And tell Shikamaru-kun and Temari-chan I'll make sure things will be ripe for their return." Kabuto bade.

"Do I even want to know what you are going to do Kabuto-san?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. "Oh, that reminds me. Naruto wanted to know why you healed me but not him? He was upset about it."

"He should have stuck around after the fight then. Tell him I am impressed with the damage he managed to inflict." Kabuto smiled and push his glasses back up his nose. "And no, you don't want to know what I have cooking this time."

"I thought not. Do you have any messages you wish to deliver?" Sasuke asked them.

"Just remind them not to rush things. At the moment things are secure here, so don't make foolish mistakes in haste." Kakashi advised.

Gai opened his mouth, but Kurenai and Asuma clamped down on it before he could give his message of spirited youth. Sasuke nodded his head once and left, hefting the heavy bag onto his back.

"Can we trust them?" Kurenai asked once both otonin had left.

"What choice do we have?" Asuma pointed out.

"None." She admitted.

She felt better knowing her former and current charges were safe and sound. She trusted Shikamaru and Temari to keep them out of trouble and everyone knew Naruto would die defending them, as would Gaara.

"I should get back to the children." She stated after several minutes of contemplated silence. "Kento-kun is going to want to know Kiba-kun is alright."

The three men nodded their head in silent agreement. She stood up and stretched before heading out the back yard, across the green lawn, through the gate, and into the main floor of the small hotel.

The children were sprawled out all over the place, sleeping contently in their noon nap with two of Katsu's guards watching them. One of them approached her and informed her Katsu wished to see her at the hospital. The girl at the receptionist desk would be able to direct her to him.

Nodding her head in understanding, she left through the front door and stepped out onto the street, pausing for a second to see if she would be challenged before heading down the street to the hospital.

The streets bustled with civilians and guards. She had learned the token Katsu had left the vendor the night she had accepted her slavery was used as a claim item so the merchant would be reimbursed for the foodstuff used. It almost seemed as if Akatsuki was planning on staying and turning Konoha into their head base of operations.

The children were permitted to continue their non-shinobi education and many had been permitted to return to their families. Those civilians married or related to Shinobi would be permitted to see them once a week on good behaviour if their caretaker permitted it.

"Halt." Came a command from behind her.

She stopped as ordered. Two men came around to face her, both bearing seals from the Ryuujin clan.

"Where are you heading?"

"To the hospital as ordered by my master, Katsu-sama." She answered respectably, this not being the first time it has happened.

She made sure the choker on her neck was clearly visible.

"Katsu-san is not at the hospitable. He is in a meeting with our employers."

"I am merely following orders. I was informed the receptionist would direct me to him."

She made sure to mark these two down in memory so she could remember to come back and kick their respective asses later. The two men shared a look, than one disappeared while the other remained.

"_No doubt checking my story out."_ She thought as she waited patiently.

The other man returned after a few minutes.

"The receptionist said an order was sent out earlier, but so was a counter order after the meeting was called to cancel it."

"The messenger and I must have passed each other." She stated calmly, a hint of panic starting to touch her chest.

The one guard looked at the other.

"It is possible. The receptionist said the message was just sent five minutes ago."

"Perhaps it would be best of we escort you back to your place of residence." The other guard stated.

"Of course."

The hotel was not five minutes away. Either the messenger was really lazy, the guards were lying, or Katsu's guards were lying.

She led the way back down the street, the two men flanking her closer then she liked. She kept to the middle of the street where they couldn't do anything without causing a commotion. Unfortunately, the crowd was slowly pushing her closer to the street edge.

"Ah, there you are." She stopped, as did her two guards.

She held back a sigh of relief as Geki arrived on the scene.

"I will take it from here gentleman." He stated.

Both men didn't argue. She had never been happier to see one of their guards before. The two men left quietly. Geki turned a grin to her after the two men were out of sight.

"Katsu-sama was called to a meeting, come with me." He ordered.

She followed him through the streets and up to the main office building, where Geki told her to wait on a bench for Katsu to finish.

It was very boring. Several messengers ran by, but otherwise things were quite and peaceful. She allowed her eyes to drift close and was dozing when a familiar voice broke her out of it.

"Kurenai?"

Her eyes snapped open and locked on the intruder.

"Anko! You look like hell." She gasped.

Like her, Anko was wearing an elegant kimono with a black chocker bearing Orochimaru's sound symbol with a snake rearing to strike on either side of it. Unlike her, Anko looked like hell. She had no visible bruises or cuts; no doubt the kimono hid them. Her posture was slumped and she had a defeated look about her.

Kurenai moved over on her bench and Anko joined her, slouching down as if she had a heavy weight on her shoulders. The curse seal on her neck was clearly visible and looked like it was giving her problems. No doubt Orochimaru was using it to keep her in line.

"Want to talk about it?" Kurenai offered.

"Ile. Not here. You look like you could vent though."

"I could, for hours on end." She admitted.

"Who owns you?" Anko asked hesitantly.

"Katsu. He seems to be the leader of the mercenary group of medical-nins. I think he's the head of a small village somewhere. He's in charge of the hospital and children. He seems nice to the children, but he likes to play mind games." She answered. "I assume your tenketsu points have been sealed as well?"

"Hai. Kabuto-san did it." She admitted.

Anko really was looking beating down. Usually she was rather fiery and upbeat, almost worse then Naruto on some days, not quiet and submissive like this. Things must be truly bad.

"Asuma, Kakashi, and Gai are with me. Genma, Rin-san, Iruka-sensei, and Hiashi-sama made it out, as did the rookie-nine, Gai's team, Kazekage-sama, Temari-san, Kankurou-san, this year's Genin, and twenty-two children. Gai's, Rin-san's, and Hiashi-sama's charges are still out there and free. Kabuto told us were Hokage-sama, Jiriaya-sama, and the revered elder's are. Do you know where anyone else is?"

"Shizune-san was claimed by Kabuto-san. Ibiki, Riado and Baki, he's the former sensei of the Kazekage-sama, Temari-san and Kankurou-san, are with me."

"Baki-san? What was he doing here?"

"Bringing a message from Suna to Tsunade-sama."

"Do they know what these chokers mean?"

"They figured it out fast enough. Orochimaru-sama doesn't do much to hide it." Anko admitted, her face fallen and he hand absently rubbed the curse seal mark on her neck. "What of you?"

"Gai, Asuma, and Kakashi seem to think it's a mark that permits me to leave the house to care for the shinobi children Katsu is protecting."

"Ile, don't tell me more about anything Katsu may be hiding from the others. Orochimaru-sama will get it out of me if he find out." Anko cut in.

Kurenai looked at her friend in concern. Anko looked like she was ready to cry.

"Anko-san, Kurenai-san?"

Both women looked up to see Shizune. Like Anko her chocker bore the image of sound, but with the Kanji for healing as opposed to snakes flanking the symbol. Shizune looked completely fine. After what she learned from Sasuke and Kabuto earlier, she had no doubt Shizune was in good hands.

"Anko-san, you look like hell." Shizune commented as she joined them, moving far more gracefully in her kimono then they could ever hope to pull off.

"I've been getting that a lot lately." Anko smiled at her.

"Let me look at you. You look like you haven't slept since the village fell."

"I haven't. Orochimaru-sama is a very demanding master. I catch sleep were I can." She admitted.

The doors opened and at once the three of them fell silent. Several people walked out, some they knew, others they didn't. Those wearing the black and red cloaks clearly belonged to Akatsuki. The four mercenary leaders were distinguishable and those of Orochimaru's wore the sound symbol.

Most of them walked past them without even bothering to acknowledge the three women. Kabuto merely waved Shizune over. She politely excused herself and fell by his side, latching onto his arm and leaning against him.

Kurenai wasn't sure if it was because Kabuto ordered her to do it or because she wanted to. She wasn't sure, but it looked like Kabuto was talking to her quietly so no one would notice.

"Ah, Kurenai-chan. I haven't seen you since the chuunin exams." Kurenai turned a glare to Orochimaru.

She was shocked to see Anko actually seemed to be trembling slightly.

"Orochimaru-sama." She acknowledged coldly.

Orochimaru chuckled.

"You raise fine students. Not only did Shino-kun interfere during my first invasion, but Kiba-kun interfered during my accusation of Sasuke-kun. Between you, Gai, Asuma, and Kakashi, it seems Konoha needs no other teachers."

He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear.

"Perhaps I can convince Katsu-kun to allow me to borrow your talents for a while?" he said, his tongue licking his lips.

She shuddered in revulsion at the underlined promise in his words and gestures.

"I am sorry to interrupt, Orochimaru-sama, but we must get going."

"_And I thought there would never be a time I would be happy to see him."_ She thought as Katsu made his presence noticed.

"Of course, Katsu-san."

Orochimaru threw another look at her, licked his lips in a way that caused her to shudder again, then turned and left, Anko silently falling into step behind him after wishing her goodbye.

Kurenai turned her attention back to Katsu, who was watching them leave with a look of distaste on his face. Clearly he did not like Orochimaru, and she didn't blame him. The two of them were now alone.

"Arigato, Katsu-sama."

Katsu turned a smile on her as he joined her on the bench.

"You owe me a reward for that." He stated.

She felt a tentacle of fear curl in her stomach. He grabbed her chin and leaned in, locking his lips with hers. Her entire body stiffened in shock as he leaned into her.

"Come you can do better then this. I could always call Orochimaru-sama back." He whispered in her ear.

Her entire body trembled slightly at the threat. He caught her lips again, and this time she forced herself to let him kiss her. The hand holding her chin let her go and the other tangled into her hair, forcing her head back so he could deepen it. His free hand supported her back so she wouldn't fall off the side of the bench as he pressed his body against hers.

An eternity later he pulled back, releasing her. She panted slightly for breath and held her boiling rage down by shear force of will and her fear he would go through with his promise to let Orochimaru have a taste of her.

"You taste wonderful, Kurenai-chan." He commented.

Her fist clenched as she resisted the urge to hit him, to wipe that smug smile off of his face.

"Come. Let us get something to eat."

He stood up and stretched before turning to face her.

Trying to wipe the feel of his mouth on hers away with her arm, she followed his lead. He chuckled at her action, but didn't stop her as he led her away from the office building and down into the city.

He eventually stopped at a small store, ordering her to wait outside while he went in. She leaned against the wall and alternated between adding to her ever-growing "list of things to do to Katsu when Konoha was finally free" and shuddering in revulsion at Orochimaru's offer.

"_Shit, now that damn bastard has another damn thread tied to me to get me to do what he wants."_ She cursed.

Katsu returned soon enough, a small bag in his hands that he passed to her before leading her to one of the many parks that inhabited Konoha. She discovered the bags contained pre-made bento lunches and two cans of orange juice. They sat down on the grass next to one of the koi ponds and ate silently.

It was a hot day and the heat bore pleasantly down upon them. The sun reflected off of the water in the pond, which occasionally rippled when the large koi would come to the surface in hopes of food. Small, puffy, white clouds lazily made their way across the sky and she couldn't help but to think how much Shikamaru-kun would have enjoyed laying back and watching them on a day like this before Temari-san would find him and force him to do something troublesome.

She grinned at one of the memories she had of having witnessed such a feat. If there was one person who could get Shikamaru to do something he thought was too troublesome, it was Temari. What had shocked the village was when Temari had actually beat Shikamaru in a game of Go, followed by a game of Shogi. It was a feat none had ever accomplished before.

"_If anyone stands a chance of organizing a counter strike and getting everyone to Suna safe and sound, it is those two._" She thought determinedly.

"Is the weather in Konoha always this nice?" Katsu asked, taking her by surprise and breaking her thoughts.

She looked over at him to see him laying on his back and watching the clouds drift by.

"In the summer, it is usually this nice." She answered, absently crushing some bread into crumbs before throwing it into the pond, watching as the koi eagerly snap it up. "How long are you staying before returning to your own village?" She dared to ask.

"My contract extends until Akatsuki acquires whatever it is they are looking for. Then we may return to my village, or we may remain here for a while. Or maybe we will travel between both places."

"We?" She nearly yelped.

Katsu turned onto his side and looked at her with a smile.

"You seem to forget you belong to me now, Kurenai-chan. Where I go, you go if it is my desire. I must return to work. Would you care to come or would you like to return to the children."

"I would like to return to the children, Katsu-sama." She answered without hesitation.

"Very well."

He leaned towards her and caught her mouth with his. She tried to pull back, but his hand tangled itself into her hair and forced her head back so he could deepen it. She stiffened in shock.

"Come now, Kurenai-chan. I wish to taste you as I did earlier. You seem to forget that you are the slave and I am the master. A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master, and this pleases me. Please do not go back on our contract now."

He caught her mouth again. She allowed him entry, but did nothing to encourage him. When he released her and stood up, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve, feeling slightly sick.

"Return to the children. Clearly you need some lessons in humility, so when I return I had better see six pages full of your writing clearly saying "A slave's only purpose in life is to please her Master." I will not be pleased to return and find out you have not completed this task."

He looked down at her with a grin before walking off, heading back to the hospitable. She cursed his soul to every hell she knew of as she cleaned up their lunch and stormed back to the hotel.

The children where awake and working on their writing projects. Each of them was writing a long report on why they wanted to be a shinobi. With the kids distracted, she pulled out a pen and six pieces of papers.

She briefly toyed with the idea of writing it in big print, but quickly tossed the idea away as childish.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

She got so absorbed in writing the accursed sentence out; she never even noticed when the children finished and Kento ran out after Inuki until Kiri started pulling on her sleeve.

"Nani?" She demanded sharply, scaring poor Kiri.

"Kento-kun ran out after Inuki again." Kiri reported timidly.

"Oh. Gomen, I didn't mean to shout at you Kiri-chan. Kento-kun went after Inuki again. I swear that pup is more trouble then Akamaru ever was."

She left the papers on the table, now numbering four pages, as she rushed outside to see Kento chasing Inuki through the garden behind the hotel.

"Kento-kun, Inuki, get back here." She barked.

Inuki instantly collapsed to the ground, shaking and whining. Kento caught up to him, than also froze and started to shake. She didn't think she shouted that mean. She rushed out to join them, than froze herself, as she spotted what she couldn't see from hotel.

"Itachi-sama, Kisame-san." She acknowledged the two members of Akatsuki, who were standing on the fence dividing her house from the hotel, as she placed herself before a quivering Kento and Inuki. _"What are they doing here?"_ She wondered in a slight panic.

"I thought all of the children were being held at the school." Kisame grinned.

Kento trembled even more and Inuki started to whimper.

"Can I help you?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"You haven't been using your new found slavery to smuggle kids out of the school now have you?" Kisame added, grinning like a maniac.

"Katsu-sama is not here at the moment, but I will take a message for him." She continued, looking more at Itachi, or his chest since she would sooner die then met his eyes, red with the Sharingan as they always seemed to be, then Kisame.

After her two encounters with the pair, she had quickly summarized that he was the one in charge. Every time he had spoken, or giving some unseen signal, Kisame had obeyed without hesitation or resistance.

"Maybe the brats a runaway and Katsu-san sent you after him. Perhaps I should cut his legs off to prevent further escape." Kisame offered, taking his big, wrapped sword off of his back and pointing the tip at Kento an Inuki.

Kento looked like he was ready to faint, but Inuki jumped to her little paws and started to bark defensively. Things went from bad to worse. Kiri and the others quickly came to Kento's rescue as they ran out of the hotel to defend their friend.

Kurenai could have died. Kento she could have explained off as having taken him and Inuki for a walk, but the other fourteen children under her care would be unexplainable.

Itachi raised his gaze to regard the children, but still hadn't spoken. They all but froze when his gaze fell on them, but they did hold their ground. Katsu was going to be furious when he found out about this.

With Kento's distinct facial marking and Kiri's white eyes and curse seal, there was no mistaking their heritage.

"I wish to speak to you. Return your charges home." Itachi finally spoke, his tone offering no room for negotiation.

"Hai, Itachi-sama." She bowed politely as she ushered the children back into the hotel and into their respective rooms before returning to the main floor. Those with windows facing the garden plastered their faces to them to watch.

She gathered the six pieces of paper she had been working on and pocketed the pen. When she left the hotel, Itachi was alone. She felt a flare of panic hit her as to the whereabouts of Kisame. Was he reporting their find to their boss? She prayed not. She would do anything to protect the children.

"Explain what is going on here." He commanded calmly.

Nodding her head, she explained the deal she had made with Katsu. In exchange for the children's lives and safety, she had accepted Katsu's offer of slavery. She was their caretaker.

"The boy is an Inuzuka, and that little girl is a Hyuuga. Their names?"

"Inuzuka Kento and Hyuuga Kiri. Kento-kun is Kiba-kun's cousin, as Kiri-chan is to Hinata-chan and Neji-kun. Neither are direct members of the head families." She answered.

She felt overwhelming fear for their safety. She was almost trembling in apprehension. His eyes fell to the papers in her hands.

"What is that?"

It took her a second to understand what he was talking about, but when she did she felt the urge to hide the papers, but she answered truthfully.

"The project Katsu-sama ordered me to finish."

Itachi held out his hand, and she obediently handed the papers over.

He merely looked at the top page, full of her writing that stupid, hated, sentence, before looking back to her.

"You were talking to Orochimaru and Kabuto's pets when the meeting was adjourned." He stated.

Trust him to have remembered every little detail there was to remember about anything. She wondered what that had to do with anything.

"Orochimaru seemed interested in you."

She didn't like where this was going one bit. Katsu was most likely already in trouble for hiding the children from Akatsuki. Akatsuki had a habit of removing those that displease them. Without Katsu, she would be free game, as would the children.

He handed the papers back to her. She took them and hugged them to her chest.

"You should take that lesson to heart." He stated as he left, seeming to just disappear from before her.

She was left standing alone. For several minutes she couldn't move, then she rushed back to the hotel to check on the kids. They were still all in their room, each of them giving a cry of relief when she opened their door.

It was late and she had no doubt they were hungry. She let them out of their rooms and they headed to the lounge, where several of Katsu's men were arriving with food for the kids to eat.

She sat off to the side, took up her pen, and started writing.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

She had no doubt that if Itachi or Kisame reported this to their leader, Katsu would be removed.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

She was sure they hadn't reported it or the kids would have been removed already from the hotel and Katsu's men wouldn't be tending them, they would be finding a new leader.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

His comment about seeing her disturbed her. She wondered why he had bothered to have brought it up.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

"_Orochimaru seemed interested in you. You should take that lesson to heart."_ His words rang through her head.

A slave's only purpose in life is to… Her pen froze.

Had he been watching? Had he seen her resistance to Katsu's attentions? Was he going to overlook this as long as she accepted her role as Katsu's slave? Why would he do that? Why would he even care? This had nothing to do with him or his mission to hunt down Naruto.

She forced her pen to move again.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

The sentence took on a whole new meaning. Katsu was her direct master, but through him, so was Akatsuki. She had been charged with taking care of the children. She had been commanded to obey and respect them. For now Itachi was going to leave things alone, but if she continued to resist, he would step in.

A slave's only purpose in life is to please her master.

"_My only purpose right now is to obey Katsu in order to protect the children."_ She thought defeated as she finished the fifth page and started on the sixth.

The ink smudged as salt water fell on it. She ignored it as she forced herself to keep writing the cursed sentence over and over. With Katsu's guards now back, the children no longer needed her supervision.

She never even noticed when they had been rounded up and sent to bed. Fortunately, that had happened before she had started the sixth page. Tears streamed down her face as she finished it.

The guards ignored her as she collapsed into a crying fit, dropping the pen and letting it role off of the table and onto the floor.

She could not refuse him anything. If Itachi saw signs that Katsu could not control her, then he would act to have Katsu removed. Who could trust a mercenary who couldn't even tame one, sealed, woman? Not to mention the fact that he was already withholding information from them.

"Katsu-sama is home." One of the guards finally stated sometime later.

Kurenai forced herself up, grabbed the papers, returned to the house, handed them to a surprised Katsu, who had been talking to Geki in the living room, before heading upstairs, changed for bed, and crawled into the corner of her bed.

Her back was to the door and she cried herself to sleep. She never noticed when Katsu joined her.

(break)

He was shocked to see she had been crying when she thrust the six sheets of paper into his hands before all but running up the stairs. He glanced at Geki, but the shocked and confused look on his face indicated he didn't know anymore then he did.

He glanced at the sheets, noticing the change in her writing as he did so. The first four pages had kanji writing with a clear, defiant flair. The fifth page looked kind of scribbled as if she was distracted and doodled it more then wrote it. The last page was covered in smears from her tears. Clearly something had happened between pages four, five, and six.

Her three friends looked up after her confused, before turning a glare at him, indicating they thought it was something he had done.

"Geki."

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

"Tomorrow, see of you can find out what put her into that state." He ordered clearly for the benefit of her friends.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

"Very well. Good night than."

He walked up the stairs and took a shower before walking into his room.

Kurenai was in her corner of the bed; breathing deeply and slightly sniffled from a runny nose, most likely caused by her crying. She was asleep and curled up defensively. He changed into his nightclothes and joined her.

* * *

I need help fellow Naruto fan's and beloved reviewers. I need three names to use. One for Shikamaru's mother, one for Ino's mother, and one for Choji's mother. They will make an appearance in later chapters and reading, Ino's mother said or Yamanaka-san said, is really tiresome, so they need names.

I didn't like this chapter much. Don't worry, Kurenai will get over it in her next chapter. I am afraid things will get darker for her, but they will lighten up again and I try to add comedy to lighten the dark mood. Please remember when you think about how mean I am to her that;

1. She is a prisoner of war and is being treated far kinder then any other prisoner, or slave for that mater, would be in real life. He has every right to do anything to her he pleases and no one could stop him, though I am sure Asuma, Gai, and Kakashi would try to help her.

2. Katsu is manipulative, but not cruel. He does care about her in his own way. The best comparison I can think of is like a person that loves his pet dog.

3. She did agree to 'bed' him in exchange for the children's safety.

Katsu is patient with his 'training' of her and will not force her to uphold her end of the agreement until chapter, um, let me look it up here …… chapter 11. Warning's of sexual content will be posted before such scenes.

Special thanks to; Dragonzair, Queen Dopplepoppleous, Teal Colored Eyes, Nissan Nut, and The Gandhara. I love you guys. Almost every review from the last couple chapters has been from you five. I usualy wait to see all five names before updating. It let's me know you have had a chance to read the chapter before posting the next one.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 8

Rest and Prepare

"Arigato, Kabuto-san." Sakura cheered as she took the bag from Sasuke.

"What is it?" Kiba asked curiously.

Sakura pulled out several medical texts. Some were on anatomy, others on herbs and their uses. She even found the one on the Chakara and other harmful insects and almost cried. She also pulled out several pills and other supplies that had been in lockup that she hadn't been able to get to them during the invasion as only Tsunade and Shizune had the key.

Sakura forced her cheerfulness aside as she took some of the power bars Sasuke had brought back with him and brought them over to her disgruntle patients. Kiba was to have his stitches removed today, as was Neji.

Kiba she had to all but tie down to keep still. Neji could barely move without pain, but still insisted on doing things on his own, which was only aggravating his condition. Shikamaru and Temari were hinting they wanted both men fully functional as soon as possible. For Kiba, no problem, for Neji, not without using all of her Chakra to force the healing along.

Since they were relatively safe she had used more chakra to encourage them to heal faster then was probably wise. With the Chakara out of his system, Neji's chakra returned quickly once his tenketsu points had been restored, but his ribs and lungs still gave him problems. He was not permitted to move without help and she knew it irked him to no end.

"Here." She handed both of them one of the bars before tearing into her own like she hadn't eating in ages.

Kiba woofed his bar down in seconds. Neji ate slower mainly because his ribs hurt and he didn't want to look bad. Hinata joined her with the scissors they would need to take the stitches out. This time Hinata would be doing the work while Sakura supervised.

Kiba obediently pulled his shirt off and laid down the on the blanket provided. Hinata checked the wound first before removing the stitches. She spread more of her healing ointment on it before bandaging it up again.

"Arigato, Hinata-chan." Kiba thanked her cheerfully.

Sakura would do Neji's. With Kiba cared for and cleared for light activity, he all but bolted from them. Sakura sighed as she turned her attention to Neji, who had a sour look on his face at still being labelled unable to do anything while Kiba was let free.

"_Men." She growled inward as Neji took Kiba's place on the blanket, with assistance from her and Hinata, laying on his stomach and winching in pain from his damaged ribs._

Hinata left after that, taking away the bandaging from Kiba's appointment and cleaning or destroying it.

Sakura brushed Neji's hair out of the way, surprised by how soft it still was and wondering what kind of condition he used before throwing the thought aside as inappropriate for the situation, and checked the incision. She was pleased to note it was still infection free. The cut was shallow thanks to her healing jutsu. She took the stitches out and spread more of Hinata's ointment on it before bandaging it up again.

"Turn around." She ordered.

(break)

Sakura's order confused him and he blinked in surprise, but did as ordered. She was the medic after all and Neji would do anything to follow Kiba to freedom.

"Don't get any funny idea's." She stated as she straddled his hips, the only way in their current situation to get into the position she needed, and preformed several seals.

"Sakura, what are you…" There was no doubting the clear shock and surprise in his voice, despite his effort to hide it.

He was cut off as she finished her seals and her hands glowed blue before she touched them to his chest. He felt her chakra infuse into his system as she worked on healing his ribs.

Sweat began to pour down her face almost at once. Forcing bone to mend faster was harder then convincing tissue cells to multiply faster. She had to be directly over them to do this properly, and this was the only position she could do it in.

"Sakura." He called again.

She ignored him. His ribs started to hurt less and less as she worked. He would sooner live with the pain then suffer the embarrassment of having her straddling him. The last thing he needed was rumours starting to spread about the two of them dating or something.

"Sakura." He tired again.

He was tempted to grab her and shake her, but knew she might end up hurting him if she was forced to move. His chest felt warm and for the first time in days he was breathing normally.

"Sakura!" He cried.

He caught her as she collapsed onto his chest, her chakra exhausted. His chest no longer hurt. In fact, he felt completely fine.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru demanded, Neji's last cry having alerted the others that something was wrong.

Neji sat up and twisted around so she was now lying on the makeshift hospital bed. Getting caught in such a pose with Sakura was the last thing he wanted. It was bad enough the others threw Temari and Shikamaru together. Last thing he needed was for others to get an idea to get them together. He had no interest in Sakura. As far as he was concerned, she was all Lee's.

"Sakura-chan." Hinata gasped as she pushed Neji aside and activated her Byakugan.

He was not expecting Hinata to do that. Not in a million years would he have ever guessed she would toss him aside to get to Sakura. Never suspected she could. When did she get so strong, or was it just because he was still so weak from the healing?

"She's almost out of chakra." Hinata reported. "She healed Neji-niisan's ribs. He's cleared to return to duty."

Hinata formed several seals of her own. When she was finished, she rested her hands on top of Sakura's heart and started to pour chakra into her. It took twice as much chakra to give someone chakra. For every unit giving, one unit was needed to convert it. Hinata gave her just enough of her own to get Sakura jump-started back onto the road of recovery.

"Why?" Neji asked into the stunned silence as Hinata worked.

"Probably because you make a horrible patient and she wanted you out of the way as soon as possible." Kiba snorted.

"Nani." He demanded sharply.

"Enough." Hinata snapped, taking everyone by surprise. "It is not necessary for everyone to be crowding around while I work."

He was taking aback at his cousin's bark. Hinata had always been shy and soft spoken. When had she gotten so confident? He suspected Naruto was behind most of it, all he would have to do was recall their fight during the Chuunin exam when Hinata had stood up to him and refused to quit even after she had been clearly beaten. His cousin always did have a thing for the blue-eyed, blond devil since their academy days.

Hinata continued to work furiously to help Sakura as he watched in stunned silence.

(break)

Hinata must have been really worried if she actually snapped at everyone. Quite, shy, polite Hinata never snapped or raised her voice to anyone. At least that was how he remembered her. Maybe hanging around Sakura had the same effects on her as Sakura had hanging around Ino.

"Everyone back to your post. Neji, Kiba, I would like to see you." Shikamaru ordered. _"Knowing Neji, he was probably upset about being in such a pathetic condition so Sakura, out of pity, did what she could without thinking about herself. How troublesome. Now we can't move out until she recovers."_

Temari joined them as he led the two boys back to where a small log had been laid out so maps and papers could be splayed out and written on.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I'll explain later." He promised.

She nodded her head as she turned her gaze on the two boys. Kiba looked worried and Neji looked half worried and half guilty. She quickly came to the same conclusion he had. If it was one thing he would admit he admired about her, it was her ability to collect and correctly assess data.

"You have both been cleared for duty again?" Temari asked more as a formality then because she didn't know.

"Hai." They both answered.

Temari wrote it down in the notebook they had been using to keep a record of events. This way they wouldn't have to fill out a month long report when they got back. All they would have to do is hand in the notebook.

"Kiba, you will join Akamaru and Shino on their patrols. Neji, you will go with Ino and Choji. For now we are just keeping an eye out for our enemies while gathering as much food and water as we can for our impending trip through the cave and desert." He explained.

"Caves?" Kiba asked confused.

"Sasuke knows a way through these labyrinth of caves that will take us out near Suna. We will have to travel for several days underground. Gather supplies for torches and keep your eyes open for any of the herbs Hinata-chan has on her list. Any questions?"

"Ile." They both answered.

"Alright. Ino and Choji are on guard duty right now and Shino and Akamaru are already out on the field. You will start your duties on the next shift. You are dismissed until than."

"Hai." Both boys walked off to help where they could before their shifts would start.

"How long until Sakura-chan recovers enough for us to move?" Temari asked as she finished entering the conversation into the logbook before closing it.

"We can probably move out tomorrow. I just hope Sasuke's right about this set of caves he was talking about."

"If you don't trust him, then why are we going to follow his idea?" She asked.

"Because if he is right, we'll be able to get into Kaze Country without a fight. The boarder is heavily guarded. If Lee and Genma-san can't make it past, then there is no way any off us are going to be able to."

"You seem to be putting a lot of faith in those two's abilities." She commented.

"No one is faster then Lee other then Gai-sensei. And Genma-san has been a Jounin long before we even entered the academy. If he says there is no way in, there is no way in. I might have suggested we try and break in, but we have twenty-two children to take care off."

"We could always leave the children here with the weaker of us." She suggested.

"There is still a chance they would be discovered." He countered.

"What about Ino's ability to take a mind over?"

"The range is limited."

She continued to throw out suggestions, and for each one he found a flaw that would cost lives or cause the mission to fail. When she ran out of ideas, he started to list a few off. For each one of his she pointed out flaws. They had been doing this for days now with out finding an alternative to the plan Sasuke had suggested.

"Looks like we are going through the caves." Temari finally concluded, shuddering as she did so.

If it was one thing he had learned about her in their six months of traveling together, it was that she hated caves, or any other enclosed places. It wasn't that she was Closter-phobic, but more that she was use to the wide-open ranges of the desert. If she couldn't see the sun or sky, she started to get twitchy. Her entire combat style demanded open space to move.

If he thought dealing with her as an ambassador from Suna to Konoha was troublesome, working with her day in and day out was even more so. At least when she was an ambassador he only saw her when Tsunade made him escort her around and when they were not in meetings. Now he had no escape and she seemed to be capitalizing on it.

He was sure there was a conspiracy going on and everyone but him was in on it. When it came for their turn to sleep, there tended to be only one bed for them to share. With supplies so short, they couldn't be stingy on who shared what with whom, and somehow he always ended up sharing everything with her.

The same food dish, the same blankets, the same patrol slot, the same guard slot, Kami, they even shared the same water bottle, which of course was hers since he had no time to pack before being dragged out of his house. He couldn't escape from her and no one seemed willing to help.

"Something wrong, Shikamaru-kun?" She asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Blinking, he realized he had let this obsession of sniffing out the conspiracy distract him. Unacceptable with so many lives on the line. He was going to have to deal with this sooner then later.

"Ile. Just thinking."

"We should call it quits for today. We have already been over the plans a million times and have confirmed nothing can be done or changed. Until tomorrow, there is nothing we can do. Want to play a game of Go?" She asked.

Yes, that would get his mind off of things.

"Shikamaru-kun, Temari-san."

Both Jounin looked up to stare at Hinata.

"What is it Hinata-chan?" Temari asked.

"Sakura-chan will be fine. She just needs a lot of rest and something to eat." She reported.

"All right. Make sure she gets as much sleep as possible and something to eat." Temari ordered.

"Hai, Temari-san."

Hinata left to return to a still sleeping Sakura.

Shikamaru pulled out the chunk of driftwood they had found and marked with pen lines while Temari grabbed the two bags of light and dark river rocks they had gathered. They were halfway into the game when the patrols all returned.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Lee had a large pile of fish, much to the delight of the children who were suffering the most on the low rations being handed out. Akamaru and Shino had found some berries and more of the herbs Hinata used. Henabi, Konohamaru, Genma, and Tenten returned with fish, a few rabbits, a few game birds, and even a small deer.

Henabi had been using her Byakugan to find the game while Tenten hit them with undying accuracy. It had been Tenten who had requested Henabi's help in hunting. Apparently she and Neji had perfected this form of hunting during the Chuunin exams and continued to train it for missions where food was not always available. He would have to remember that one.

The other Genin where helping Iruka deal with the children. That was the biggest challenge in this entire mission. Things would be so much easier without them. Without them, they could have risked a bust into Kaze Country. They could move faster and more silent.

Kankurou and two of the Genin cooked while those just returning from patrols rested. Gaara set up his suna shield to conceal the light of the campfire as night fell. With the suna shield up, they were able to reclaim more of the blankets that had been used for the task while Gaara recovered his chakra.

Like Naruto, it took very little time for him to recover. It was an ability Shikamaru envied them for. He was still low from their flight, even though they had 'rested' for several days.

Only Temari knew he wasn't sleeping well at night. There was just too many things that could go wrong, too many things to keep track of. His mind refused to shut down at night.

He had just finished his game of Go with Temari and they were in the middle of counting the points when supper was finished. Naruto brought them something to eat, Gaara joining them.

He hated sharing a plate with Temari, but he could not afford to be stingy. She continued to act as if sharing everything with him was no big deal.

"Who won?" Gaara asked.

"We tied." Temari answered with a grin.

"Find anything worthy to report?" Shikamaru asked, tearing the piece of travel bread Sasuke had brought back in half and handing the large piece to Temari.

Both of them slapped some of the cooked venison on top and ate it like that. The deer would be the hardest to transport, so it was eating first. The rabbit, bird, and fish were drying over the fire to be transported with them.

"We found a few patrols, but they were wandering aimlessly and seem to be ahead of us. I think we are behind their lines now." Naruto reported.

"We have no way of knowing if there is a second wave of searchers." Gaara added.

"Did we have to silence anyone?" Temari asked.

"Ile. We try to avoid that at all cost. We did set some traps that would appear to be several days old, if not several years. Hopefully we will kill a few off." Naruto said between bites of his own venison bread slice.

"When are we leaving?" Gaara asked.

"Sakura exhausted her Chakra healing Neji, so not until tomorrow night or the night after. I don't like traveling in the dark, but it is harder to see tracks at night. Can I trust you to use your Suna sleds to carry the children again, Kazekage-sama?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hai. And call me Gaara. Kazekage is not appropriate in our current situation."

Shikamaru grinned.

"Right. The chances of Suna being under occupation is very slim, but if it is, what are we going to do?" He asked as Genma joined them.

The five of them pretty much made up the war party council. Temari and Shikamaru were the brains of the operation. Gaara and Naruto could sometimes see things they could not, especially Naruto. Genma had more experience then any of them and all four of them valued his input.

Iruka was primary a teacher so they left him in charge of the kids. He still didn't trust Sasuke enough to let him in the group and Sasuke seemed just fine to be excluded. Right now the Uchiha was checking on Sakura. Shikamaru was surprised to see Sasuke had tied his scratched, Konoha, forehead protector to his waist once more.

A few of the children dared to ask why it was scratched. He answered Naruto had scratched it when they fought one time. When they asked why he still wore his sound headband, he answered that it was to fool the otonins.

Shikamaru turned his attention back to the group before him. All of them finished eating before continuing the conversation.

"What are we going to do if we make it to Suna?" Genma asked.

"I will gather my forces and we will return to Konoha to free it." Gaara answered. "I trust Temari and Shikamaru will come up with a counter strike that will be effective with their combined knowledge of the terrain and what our troops can do. Sasuke says Kabuto will do his own damage to the enemy, but we will not count on it."

"And what if they start killing civilians to draw you and Naruto out?" Genma added calmly.

Naruto, Temari, and Shikamaru looked horrified at the prospect. That was one thing they hadn't counted on.

"They won't." Naruto stated calmly.

"What makes you think that?" Temari demanded.

"For that to work, they would have know where Gaara and I are so they could tell us about it. If we don't know about it, then it would be pointless. They went through too much trouble to secure Konoha to start killing people off now." Naruto answered firmly.

"We still haven't answered what we would do if we found Suna under enemy control." Shikamaru pulled them back to the original question.

"Free Suna first." Naruto answered without hesitation.

"Why Suna?" Genma asked challengingly, but not in a way that stated he was unhappy with the decision, more like in a way that was like a teacher asking a student why he thought the answer was the correct one.

"Because with all the beautiful suna just lying around, Gaara should have no problems evening the odds. It's like leaving all you enemies kunai at your feet while your enemy still has chakra strings attached to them." Naruto answered.

"Can you control that much suna?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hai. I could snipe them one by one if need be." Gaara answered.

"Whittle them down until they are manageable." Temari agreed.

"Or silently kill off a few guards and we can all sneak in for a rear assault. The nice thing about Gaara's suna is that it can kill silently." Naruto added.

"It is unlikely Suna has falling. I don't think Akatsuki has the manpower to bring two shinobi villages to ground." Gaara pointed out.

"We are just preparing for the worse case scenario." Shikamaru assured him. "I agree the likelihood Suna is under enemy control is all but nil, but it is best to be prepared for any eventuality."

"So we leave tomorrow night for Sasuke's cave than?" Genma asked to clarify.

"Hai. According to Sasuke, it should take most of the night. Now that Kiba and Neji are back up, I will have Kiba, Hinata and Akamaru take the lead with Neji and Naruto taking the rear. The rest of us will be spread out through the line.

"I want four sleds with five kids on two and six kids on two. Two Genin will be assigned to each sled with one standing on either side. In the front of each sled will be Ino, Choji, Iruka-sensei, and Sakura. Following behind the last sled will be Shino.

"I would like Gaara-sama, Kankurou and Lee to take the back, flanking Sakura. This way Lee can run a message up to us if things go wrong. Temari and I will be in the front ahead of Ino with Konohamaru, who will be acting as our messenger.

"Sasuke will have to be upfront with us since he knows where these caves are. Genma-san, I would like you next to Iruka. If things get bad, we all fall into that center point and Gaara-sama will erect a _suna no tate_ around the children to protect them while we deal with the threat."

"And if push comes to really bad shove, Gaara and I will turn ourselves over to give you one hell of a head start." Naruto finished.

"Unacceptable." Temari shouted.

"Temari." Gaara said calmly.

Instantly Temari calmed down.

"I won't let them have you." She said stubbornly.

"We are what Akatsuki is after. If our surrender will let you get away, then so be it. I won't have anyone dying for me." Naruto said stubbornly.

"It is my place as Kazekage to protect my people and my allies. If surrendering is the only way, then so be it." Gaara added.

"If Akatsuki manages to find a way to get a hold of and gain control of Kyuubi, then you will be putting the world in danger." Shikamaru pointed out.

"They won't be controlled. If it is one thing I know about Kyuubi, it is that he would sooner die then be a weapon for Akatsuki." Naruto stated.

"How do you know this?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because we talk sometimes and he told me so." Naruto answered.

"It is the same with Shukaku." Gaara added.

Genma and Shikamaru looked surprised, but Temari already knew about it.

"You can talk to them?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

Both boys nodded their heads in silent answer.

"What do they thing of this situation?"

"Shukaku only thinks of killing. The situation means nothing." Gaara answered first.

"The damn kitsune finds it amusing. He thinks it will be an interesting challenge to see how far I can go before asking for his help." Naruto answered.

"Asking?"

"Kyuubi lends me his power when my life is in danger or when I ask him for help. He finds me interesting. Damn kitsune keeps calling me 'Kit.'" Naruto answered.

"Kit?" Shikamaru asked surprised.

"Don't ask."

"I think it's Kyuubi's way of showing he acknowledges Naruto's own power." Temari stated. "Not too many people would demand chakra from a pissed off, sealed, taiyoukai."

"Demanded?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

"You promised not to tell anyone about that, Temari-chan." Naruto protested.

Things were beginning to look very troublesome. Was it too late to hand off the leadership bit to Genma or Gaara? Most likely. He hated this.

"You two should get some rest." Naruto ordered.

"I'm fine." Shikamaru instantly denied.

"Ile. I will knock you senseless if need be, or get Hinata-chan to make it an order."

Naruto was getting far too comfortable with giving out orders for his liking.

"Naruto…"

Before he could finish, Naruto pressed his fingertips to his forehead. His world went dark.

(break)

Temari smirked as Naruto formed several seals with the hand he had hiding behind his back. How he had convinced Gaara to teach him that technique was beyond her, but she was glad he used it when appropriate.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru was cut of as Naruto thrust his hand out to tap Shikamaru on the forehead.

Temari caught him as he slumped, dead asleep.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun." She thanked him.

"No problem. Oi, how about we strip him? Can you imagine the look on his face when he wakes up the next morning without clothes on?" Naruto's grin was very kitsune like.

Temari matched it. It would be devilish, and well worth the amusement. If it was one thing she was sure Shikamaru needed to learn, it was to have some fun.

"I will not be a part of this." Gaara stated as he left.

Genma remained silent, but he did have a hint of a smile on his face. And did he ever take that needle out? She was hard pressed to think of a time he didn't have it in his mouth.

Naruto helped her get Shikamaru to their shared bed. She was kind enough to turn her back while Naruto stripped Shikamaru of his clothes and tucked him in. She crawled in after and nestled up against him.

"Good night Temari-chan." Naruto bid.

"Night, Naruto-kun." She grinned back.

Everyone sought his or her bed. Gaara didn't sleep so he would stay up on guard duty. The only way they would know if they had been found was when their enemy started pounding on Gaara's suna wall anyway.

The fire was banked until only a light dim filled the cave. Naruto ended up sharing a bed with Kiba and Akamaru. He hated the smell of inu, but the extra warmth of having Akamaru sleep on top of the blanket more then made up for it.

(break)

When he awoke the next morning, it was to Temari nestled up against him. He was use to it by now so he didn't think anything of it. He shifted a bit, his right arm felt dead from where her head had pinched a nerve. He made sure not to disturb her as he did so. If it was one thing he knew, it was that women were very scary in the morning when you woke them before they were ready.

Temari shifted in response to his movement and rested her hand on his chest, nestling against his warmth some more. He could feel the calluses from wielding her giant fan rub against his skin.

Wait, why could he feel her calluses through his clothes? And just how did he fall asleep anyway. The last thing he remembered was planning their movement for tonight. Hands trembling, he lifted the blanket up enough to look down and see that he was wearing nothing. Not a hint of clothes to be found.

He was naked in a bed with Temari. A quick, hesitant glance at her showed she was still wearing clothes. He let out the breath he had been holding. He looked franticly around for his clothes and found them hanging from some rope with the rest of the laundry across the cave.

Other then Gaara, everyone else still seemed asleep. Could he make it to them before anyone woke up? He doubted it. There was no chance in Jigoku he would get out of Temari's possessive grasp without waking her. Maybe he could get Gaara to get his clothes to him.

"Gaara-sama." He called softly.

If Gaara heard him, he gave no indication.

"Gaara-sama." He called slightly louder, doing anything to avoid waking anyone.

Gaara turned to look at him.

"Ohayo Gaara-kun." Naruto yawned, stretching as he did so.

Naruto's movement caused Akamaru to wake up and stretch, which in turn woke up Kiba. Shikamaru froze. Of all the bad luck in the world, the two loudest Shinobi in the existence had to wake up first. Now everyone would know about his predicament and there was no way he would ever be allowed to live it down.

Akamaru barked in greeting to Kiba, who ruffled the fur on his head. Both boys stood up and freshened up before Gaara let down his Suna wall to let them pass, buckets in hand to get fresh water. With both loud-mouthed boys gone, he dared to try again, but was stopped by the sound of a familiar yawn.

"Is it morning already?" Ino asked.

"Just a few more minutes." Tenten groaned from Ino's side.

Kami, anyone but the noisiest gossiper in Konoha. Please don't let Ino find out about this. He would never live it down. The entire world would know by sundown.

"Naruto-kun, Kiba and Akamaru went to get water." Gaara stated.

"Oh. I guess we get door duty than." Tenten groaned as both girls got out of their shared bed, freshened up, and took their post by the cave entrance.

Now he was really screwed. There was definitely a conspiracy going on here, and he was sure Naruto was the culprit. Temari had yet to wake up and he dreaded her reaction the most. What if she thought he was trying to pull something on her? He would be dead before he even knew what happened, providing Gaara didn't kill him for trying something with his sister first. Maybe it was a good thing he had not been able to ask Gaara for help after all.

Hinata woke up next, checking on Sakura while she did so. The kids were still sleeping and would probably do so until later. Eventually everyone but Temari and the kids were awake. It was only a matter of time before all of Jigoku would be let lose.

(break)

It was very hard to continue to pretend she was still asleep when she could feel every twitch in his muscles so clearly. She had awoken the moment he had shifted his arm, no doubt she had pinched a nerve and cut off his circulation sometime during the night. His attempts at getting Gaara's attention amused her to no end.

Naruto and Kiba woke up first, and the true torture began. She could feel every muscle in his body tighten even more with each person who awoke. She was fascinated by it. Finally, only the children were left. She was cruel, but not cruel enough to embarrass him in front of the children.

"Morning, Shikamaru-kun." She mumbled sleepily.

His entire body froze in terror. _"No doubt he expects me to start screaming at him."_ She thought amused.

(break)

"_Any minute she is going to start screaming that I am a pervert or something." He thought in fear, silently wondering if begging would spare his life and just how low he would have to go before she forgave him._

(break)

"What time is it?" She asked innocently, absently running her finger in circles on his chest.

He was too speechless to answer, most likely because he was confused by the absence of screaming and head bashing.

(break)

"_I am confused. Why isn't she screaming or bashing my head in with her fan."_ He thought. Her finger continued to trace circles on his chest, causing a strange feeling to rush through his system that felt alien, wonderful, and frightening all at the same time.

(break)

"_He's enjoying this. I wonder what else I can do to him." She thought wickedly._

She allowed her fingers to travel lower until they rested on his stomach. She never noticed how well built he was when he was always wearing that damn vest. It looked too big on him half the time.

He stiffened some more and his breathing hitched a little. She was truly starting to enjoy this. If she knew she could elect this kind of reaction out of him, she would have done it sooner.

While she was still a virgin, she'd had other suitors in the past. Judging by his reaction to her gentle caresses, he had never even cuddled with a woman before.

"_Probably though it would be too troublesome." She thought to herself._

She allowed her hand to travel lower until it rested on his thigh.

"Temari." He finally broke, his hand darting down to catch hers.

"Hai." She asked innocently.

"What are you doing?"

He tried to say it commandingly, but his voice was too hitched to pull it off. Oh, she was enjoying every minute of this. When they made it back to Suna, she was going to make sure she cornered him and showed him what it was like to be with a woman.

"When a man crawls naked into my bed, I can only assume he wants to cuddle a little." She answered innocently. _"That ought to stump him."_

(break)

He was stumped. His mouth opened and closed silently several times as he tried to vainly come up with an answer or excuse that wouldn't piss her off. In the end, he settled for silence. It was generally the best course of action when women were involved.

"My clothes?" He dared to hazard after several minutes of silence.

"Still wet by the looks of it." She answered.

Now that the cave was lighter due to the sun streaming in the entrance and the relit campfire. He could see his clothes were sopping wet and would take several hours to dry. He was trapped.

"_Damn it. This is too much of a coincidence for their not to be a conspiracy." He growled inward._

His body was flushed from Temari's gentle caresses. He may be lazy, but he was still a man and any man would react to having a woman gently caress their body with their fingers. He vaguely remembered his dad once saying something about how a woman would show gentleness to the man she loved. He sure as hell never saw it between his parents, but that might be because it was hidden from him the way Temari was hiding what she was doing to him from the others.

He had released her hand at some point, when he couldn't remember. But it was torturing him again. Her gentle caresses caused the temperature to rise until he was ready to throw the blanket aside and the consequences be damned.

He almost asked her to stop again, but that might send her into a fit of rage. If it was one thing a woman hated, it was rejection. He valued his life. Finally, someone took pity on him and came to his rescue.

(break)

She expected him to ask her to stop, but he didn't.

"_He must be afraid I will see it as a sign of rejection and get mad at him." She guessed correctly._

She figured she had tortured him enough. The children would be awake soon. Konohamaru and Henabi were already preparing breakfast. Naruto and Kiba had returned as she shot Naruto a glance.

An understanding was transmitted and Naruto sauntered over to 'rescue' Shikamaru from his predictiment.

"Ohayo, Temari-chan." Naruto greeted cheerfully.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun." She grinned back, shifting so she was using Shikamaru's stomach as an armrest.

He didn't complain, but clutched the blankets in an effort to keep himself covered as Temari's shifting pulled the blankets with her.

"Ohayo, Shikamaru-kun." Naruto greeted.

"Ohayo, Naruto." He answered back, irritation in his voice.

"You look a lot better." Naruto commented.

Both of them looked healthier now that both of them had gotten a full nights rest. They were going to need all of their wits about them when they made their move tonight. Hopefully Sakura would have recovered enough by then, but if not she would have to ride the suna sleds while Gaara would move up to take her place.

Until than. He had to find a way to get Temari out of their bed and to get clothes on.

"You two just stay in bed. Sasuke, Gaara and I will go gather some more supplies. Everyone else should rest up for tonight.

Before he could protest, Temari agreed. Naruto rounded up Sasuke and Gaara, and the three of them left. Now he was trapped with Temari alone. What was worse was the fact that the kids were awake and he didn't dare cause a scene.

"Hungry?" She asked.

"Hai." He answered instantly.

Anything to get her out of the bed so he could wrap the blankets around himself. Her fingers were drifting again and he swore the temperature of the cave was continuing to rise.

"Kankurou." She called.

"_Damn." He cursed inwards._

She was one step ahead of him again. Kankurou gave him a look full of pity and understanding as he brought a plate full of food over to them. Temari allowed him to shift enough so they were leaning against the wall they had been sleeping beside, but she was still firmly under the blankets with him.

"_Today is going to be a living hell." He thought knowingly as they ate breakfast together._

_

* * *

_I love torturing Shikamaru with Temari. I still need names for Ino and Choji moms. Any suggestions are welcomed. Oh, a name for Tenten's mother would be helpful to. She won't make as big of an apperance as the other three, but she will show up. Next chapter, Katsu pushes Kurenai deeper into the intimate relationship he desires out of her and Kurenai discovers the location of a few more prisoners. Introduction of the four mercenary leaders and Shikamaru's and Temari's security becomes threatened. Kurenai's history, a rather dark one unfortunatly, will be brought to light.

Qeen Dopplepoppleous; What I imagined Orochimaru would do to Anko is not sutible for Fanfiction so I left it to implications. Anko will show up several more times, as will Shizune. I like trying to give everyone the spot light at least once.

Dragonzair; I am glad Katsu is coming out just the way I wanted him to. I wanted people to hate/like him all at the same time.

NissanNut; Thanks for Shikamaru's mothers name. It's appreciated. Yes Orochimaru is doign horrible things to her but they will not be brought forwards, just implied. I am glad Katsu is interesting and not just another boring, annoying OC. I couldn't think of a Naruto charactor to fulfil his role and I hate to write people OOC so I had to make him. All OC will fil in charctor personas I need that the orginal cast could not fit.

Bakusensei; thanks for the review. I get so few that every one helps and encourages me to update sooner.

The Gandhara; I am glade Itachi came out alright. Damn he's a pain to write. Expect to see more of him though mostly in the background for now. I hinted it more then out right said that Kabuto was a good guy when he healed Sasuke after Naruto and Sasuke fought the otonin.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

This chapter has a darker content. One of the few chapters to have so. There is **mention** of non-consensual sex latter on in the chapter, but no details are giving and it is talked about in the past tense. Still, it's safer to give the warning then to have someone get mad about not being warned. Never know with some people.

This chapter is 21 pages, one of the longest ones writing.

Chapter 9

Obedience

Geki never did find out for him what had upset Kurenai that night, but she had been sickenly obedient since. She never resist when he sought her mouth with his own. She didn't encourage him, but she didn't fight him either.

She remained silent and even her friends looked at her worried. The children also seemed subdued and worried. He was with the children now, reading them a story as he had promised to do, but none of them seemed to be concentrating on it.

Finally, he put the book aside unfinished.

"What is it?" He asked.

Kento looked ready to cry and he was stroking Inuki's fur non-stop in a clear sign of stress. Kiri also looked upset.

"Was Kurenai-sensei punished?" One of the children finally blurted out.

"Ile. Why would I punish her?" He asked confused.

Kento was crying now.

"The mean man didn't hurt her?" Kiri asked.

"What mean man?" He asked, now fully confused.

"It's all my fault." Kento wailed suddenly, taking Katsu by complete surprise. Inuki howled along with her master.

"What is your fault, Kento-kun?" Katsu demanded.

"I should have stopped Inuki sooner." Kento cried.

"I should have stopped you from following him." Kiri added, now also crying.

Inuki howled her own despair that only Kento could understand.

"Please, calm down." He hushed them, taking both children into a hug until their crying stopped.

After several minutes, they calmed down.

"Good. Now tell me what happened to make you think Kurenai-chan would have been punished." He ordered softly.

Shoulders shaking in sobs, Kento and Kiri explained about how Inuki had ran out and Kento had chased her. Then they talked about the evil man who had red eyes and the strange, blue man who had confronted Kurenai. Both had worn black and red cloaks and Katsu felt the first stirrings of panic and fear as he quickly assessed whom the two men were.

The children had been returned to their rooms while Kurenai talked to them, and when they had been let out, Kurenai had been very upset and had even been crying when they had been ushered to bed. She had been upset and quiet for the last two days and the children were worried the bad men had hurt her.

Katsu was stunned by the news. Clearly Itachi and Kisame, for that could be the only two who fit the description the kids gave, didn't care about the children he had under his protection. Whatever conversation they'd had with Kurenai had all but broken her spirit.

"Kurenai-chan will be fine." He assured the children.

"Really?" They asked, wiping away the last traces of their tears.

"Hai. They must have told her something that upset her, but she will get over it." He assured them.

"Promise?" Kiri demanded.

"Promise. All right rouges, it's well past bedtime. Goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight, Katsu-sama." They chorused, Inuki barking, as they marched up the stairs to their respective rooms.

He truly did love kids. They were so pure and innocent; so curious about the world around them. He returned to the house to find all four of his charges playing another card game that Kurenai and Kakashi seemed to be winning.

"Kurenai-chan." He called.

He noticed her stiffen as he name was called, but she obediently folded her hand and joined him.

"Hai, Katsu-sama?" She asked, head bowed and posture in a defeated slump.

Whatever her conversation with Itachi had been, it had almost shattered her. She would be of no interest to him of she was already broken. He would have to mend whatever damage Itachi and Kisame had done.

(break)

Even though she wasn't concentrating on the game, she was still doing all right. Ever since her meeting with Itachi and his veiled promise, she had been replaying the scene over and over in her head.

"_Orochimaru seemed interested in you. You should take that lesson to heart." Itachi's words played through her mind, followed by Anko's. "Orochimaru-sama is a very demanding master."_

In just a few days Anko had looked half dead, and she knew what to expect from Orochimaru. How long would she last?

Before her thoughts could run off on that tangent for the umpteenth time since the incident two days ago, Katsu arrived.

"Kurenai-chan." He called.

She stiffened in fear, but folded her hand and joined him.

"Hai, Katsu-sama?" She asked; head bowed respectfully as she waited for whatever order he would give her.

She was all too aware of the men's eyes on her back, but ignored them. She had already told them about her run in with Itachi, but had marred the details. She didn't like lying to them, but she felt there was no other way to stop them from doing something rash.

"Come." He bid, leading her out of the house.

She looked up at him in surprise, but did obediently follow him. Where in Jigoku was he taking her at this time of night? The streets were empty other then the odd patrol and the only light came from lanterns.

"_The hot springs?" She thought shocked as their destination became clear._

Katsu led her to a small one and stripped in front of her before submerging himself in the hot water. She averted her eyes as he did so.

"Join me." He commanded.

Hands trembling, she obeyed, sinking into the hot water and curling up to cover self with her legs.

"Still so shy, Kurenai-chan." Katsu chuckled.

She didn't answer. For several minutes, they sat in silence. Eventually the hot water caused her to relax a little. Katsu made no attempts at moving closer to her and his eyes seemed to be staring up at the stars.

"Your behaviour has drastically changed lately, and I doubt it has anything to do with the lines I made you write, correct?"

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She admitted, eyes caste aside, black bangs covering her red eyes.

"The children are worried about you." He stated.

She didn't respond. What was he getting at anyway?

"They said you had a chat with Itachi-sama and Kisame-sama. Kento-kun seems worried his actions resulted in them punishing you."

Her head snapped up to look at him, red eyes locked on violet. She was in complete shock. She never figured the children to be that receptive to her mood change, nor did she think Kento blamed himself. What was worse was that Katsu now knew about it.

"What did you and Itachi-sama talk about?" Katsu asked.

For several seconds there was silence as she struggled with how much to tell him and how much to conceal. In the end, she told him everything. Katsu listened in silence. Why Itachi had interfered with his grooming of her at all made him wonder.

Kurenai expected Katsu to explode in anger at any moment, but he remained surprisingly calm. If he was afraid of Itachi or Akatsuki, he showed no signs of it.

"I would not worry about it." Katsu finally stated when she finished.

"Not worry about it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Akatsuki has more important things to do then worry about one slave. They know that if they kill me, they will lose their contract with my village, and my village will make sure to extract revenge. Akatsuki does not like to make enemies. They prefer to operate quietly, hence Orochimaru and us four mercenary groups."

"What will happen to us if Akatsuki manages to get a hold of what they are looking for?"

"That I do not know." He admitted.

The sound of moving water snapped her out of her concerned trance. She looked up to see him walking across the small spring until he was standing right in front of her. She caste her eyes aside and tightened her grip of her knees.

"You can not tell me you have never felt the touch of a man." He stated. "So why act so shy Kurenai-chan?" He asked, a hint of amusement on his voice.

She remained silent.

"Answer." He commanded.

"I…I am not very experienced." She admitted.

"Ah. I find it hard to believe that a woman as beautiful as you are have not had many offers. We shall have to change that." He chuckled.

He head snapped up to glare at him in half anger, half shock.

His hand cupped her chin and forced her to stand next to him. She tried to pull back, but his other hand caught her lower back and held her to him. He pulled her against him and her entire body started to tremble in fear and anger.

"Let me go." She commanded in a shaky voice, trying to take a step back.

"Ile." He answered, pulling her closer against him, his hand on her chin moved to tangle in her hair, holding her against him.

He took a step forward, forcing her to take a step back.

"Please let me go." She tried again, panic starting to lace her voice as she was forced to take several more steps back until her back was against the wooden wall that divided the spring in half.

Panic began to override common sense and she struggled uselessly against him. Without her chakra, she couldn't even cause him to flinch. She hated him for sealing her, hated him for ruining her life like this, and she most strongly hated him for things like this that he forced upon her.

His mouth moved forward and started to nibble the side of her neck.

"Please stop, Katsu-sama." She asked as calmly as she could, her voice trembling.

"Why?" He asked.

"Please. I don't want this." She tried again.

"What did your lines say?"

"Nani?"

"Repeat them." He commanded, not stopping in his violation of her body.

"A slaves only purpose in life is to please her Master." She answered, the hated line committed to memory after having writing it out a few hundred times.

He stopped nibbling on her neck and whispered into her ear. "This pleases me."

Her entire body started to tremble and the only reason she was still standing was because she was pinned to the wall behind her. His naked body was flush up against hers.

"_Ile." She thought desperately._

There was no one to help her here. At the house a single scream would have brought Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma running to her rescue. And while Kakashi and Asuma couldn't do overly much without their chakra, Gai relied on his physical prowess and the loss of his chakra would only slow him down a little. A little to Gai was still more then most Jounin could ever hope to achieve when it came to speed and strength.

"Ile." She repeated again, this time aloud as she pushed against him with no effect whatsoever.

His temper snapped. She collapsed into the hot water as the back of his hand collided with her face. She came to the surface spluttering in shock as she tried to regain her feet. Her back ached as he grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against the wooden wall, her head resounding off of it with a crack.

"Clearly you still don't have the message, slave." He snapped at her.

"_Slave?" That was the first time he had called her that._

Somehow the absence of her name frightened her. His violet eyes were narrowed in rage and his entire body shock with anger. She feared he might kill her in his anger. Briefly she toyed with the idea of throwing him over the edge to kill her. At least then she would be free of this nightmare.

Kento, Kiri, Inuki, all of her charges came to her mind. The only reason they had not been handed over was because he was keeping them for her. If she died, if he decided she was not worth the effort, their protection vanished. She had to do this for them.

She forced an iron clamp down on her will and her fear. A shinobi of Konoha's first and most important mission was to protect its civilians. This was just a mission like any other. The lives of fifteen children were at stake.

"Gomen, Katsu-sama." She apologized through gritted teeth.

He seemed surprised by her apology, and even more surprised when she ceased struggling against him. She stood still, eyes cast down and hands fisted by her sides.

"_This is just a mission." She repeated in her mind. "No different from the times I had to play the part of a wife to one of the others." _

Katsu came over his surprise swiftly. He leaned in against her again, catching her mouth with his own. She didn't resist. His hands strayed from her shoulders and she obediently stayed against the wall.

"_Just a mission." She repeated in her mind as his hands wandered down her arms before resting on her lower back._

He didn't touch her anywhere private, but he did make as much skin contact as possible, pinning her against the wall with his own body. She was sure the water running down her face was just from her wet hair and not tears. She kept her eyes closed through most of it, keeping her 'just a mission' chant running through her head over and over again and trying to fight down the rising panic attack that was threatening to take over her, until he seem to tire of the game and took a step back.

She dared to open her eyes and look at him. He was grinning at her in a way she didn't like.

"Kiss me." He commanded.

"Nani?" She asked in a strained voice, shocked beyond words.

"I gave you an order, I suggest you carry it out."

The though of just giving him a peck on the check entered her mind, but she knew that was not what he was demanding. Steeling her will, she dared to take the half step to close the distance between them and captured his mouth with her own.

She was by no means an experienced kisser, but Katsu never stopped her or complained. When she dared to pull away from him, she felt sick for having been forced into such a situation in the first place.

"Good girl." He crooned, patting her hair as if she was an inu.

Finally, he released her and climbed out of the spring. She followed his lead, drying off and getting dressed as quickly as possible. They headed back to the house, retreating to their shared room.

Gai, Asuma, and Kakashi shot her worried looks from their respective beds when they walked through the living room to the stairs. She tossed them a reassuring smile as she followed Katsu up the stairs.

She was use to him changing in front of her, but she still averted her eyes and tried to cover herself as much as possible when she changed.

"Stop." He commanded.

She froze in the process of opening the drawer with her clothes.

"Those will not be necessary tonight." He stated.

"Nani? Surely you do not expect me to sleep in the Kimono, Katsu-sama?"

"Ile. You will not sleep in it." He agreed.

She turned to look at him and noticed he was already in bed, his bare chest clearly visible.

"_Oh kami, please don't let it be what I think he wants me to do." She pleaded._

"Take that off and join me." He commanded.

It was. She forced herself to remain calm as she took the kimono off, folded it neatly, and joined him in their shared bed. To her relief, he was still wearing his night pants, even though she now wore nothing.

She crawled over him to her customary place against the wall. He stopped her halfway and she froze in terror. He stole a kiss from her before permitting her to finish her journey.

She curled up against the wall, back facing him in a vain attempt to cover herself. Only then did she realize she had left the light on. She was about to fix the problem, when she felt the bed shift. She looked over her shoulder to see Katsu get up to turn the light out him self.

"_Nani?" She thought shocked._

He rejoined her.

"Goodnight, Kurenai-chan." He bid her as he did each night.

"_At least we are back to names." She thought in relief as she bid him goodnight in their usual nightly ritual._

That one angry shout and him calling her slave unnerved and frightened her more then she expected it would.

(break)

Kurenai woke to the sound of the birds chirping outside her window. She stretched as she sat up. Katsu was gone and she was lying in the center of the bed. She frowned, wondering how he had managed to sneak out when she wasn't paying attention.

Judging by the sun, it was at least nine in the morning. A glance at her clock showed her to be right. She also saw a plate of fruit waiting for her with a single red rose sitting next to it on a piece of paper.

"_Nani?" She thought confused as she climbed out of bed._

She sat on the chair next to the dresser, put the flower aside, picked up the letter with one hand had while she grabbed a strawberry with the other.

The message was short. She was to dress appropriately for a dinner they were to attend later that evening. He would send someone over at three to help her get ready, but she was to have showered by then.

She set the note aside and finished eating the fruit. She eyed the flower as she got dressed in one of her 'school kimonos' as she labelled the four out of five kimonos he had provided for her. The one she had kept was also used for meeting the kids and the red with white dragons was used for special occasions.

"_Best to not let it go to waste. The children would appreciate it." She figured as she pulled out a piece of string and tied the flower into her hair._

The children had been worried about her. She felt guilty for having not noticed in her despair. She vowed to be as cheerful as possible today. She skipped down the stairs, empty plate in hand.

"Sleeping beauty finally emerges." Kakashi quipped.

She stuck her tongue out at him in a very childish manner, dropping her plate in the sink.

"You are looking better." Asuma commented.

"I feel better." She admitted. "I have to go to some dinner with Katsu-sama, tonight so don't expect me. We will probably be home late."

"Is everything alright, Kurenai?" Asuma asked in a worried voice.

"Hai." She answered. "I have to get next door. The children are probably worried about me. They will think that by telling Katsu-sama about my meeting with Itachi, he got angry with me and punished me or something."

She went out the back door and barley made it into the lounge of the hotel before said children assaulted her. Half were screaming in joy, the other half crying in relief that their Kurenai-sensei was all right.

She calmed them down as quickly as possible before they went out of control. Once they were assured she was fine and that Katsu-sama had been right about her just being upset with what Itachi had told her, they went back to being typical kids.

This meant she had her hands full. The girls instantly noticed the rose in her hair and questions were coming in faster then she could answer them. The boys were being boys and rough housing.

When they found out she had to get dressed up for a dinner party with Katsu-sama, of course their was an overwhelming demand for her to come see them so they could see her all dressed up.

She promised, knowing Katsu would do anything for the children, but only if they behaved. It worked like a charm. The moment one child started to get out of control; the others reined him or her in with a reminder of their promise.

When two thirty hit, she excused herself, telling them she had to go get ready. The children all crowded around the lounge window that faced her house and refused to move from it as they eagerly waited for her to return. Their guards left them to it. At least it was quiet for once.

She took a long shower, making sure every detail was seen to. She brushed her wet hair out, but didn't do anything to it. She left her housecoat on and had just sat down with the boys when her 'assistant' arrived.

The woman was a pleasant chuunin level shinobi who had been an orphan until Katsu's village had taken her in. She chatted easily with both her and the men. She had brought her own tools to work with and Kurenai obediently sat still as she worked.

She wasn't sure just what the woman was doing, but it took two hours to get everything to her satisfaction. She sent Asuma up to her room to grab her outfit and jewellery box once the make-up and hair was done.

Kurenai heard the front door open and close, followed by Asuma welcoming Katsu home before he entered the kitchen. The sound of someone walking up the stairs, followed by the shower being turned on, reached her ears. She assumed Katsu was also getting ready.

The men were shoed out of the kitchen until the dragon print kimono Katsu had first given her was properly on. Her assistant dug through the jewellery box, pulling out the jewellery Katsu had given her, and proceeded to apply it.

When she was done, she attacked her face with a bit more make up before considering herself done and Kurenai fit to be seeing by the public. Gai commented on her youthful, beautiful and spirited image. Asuma said she looked beautiful and seemed to be rather pink in the cheeks, but Kurenai figured it must have just been a play of the lights. Kakashi took her picture with her own camera and made some lewd comment that introduced his face to the side of her frying pan.

He was laying on the floor with swirls in his eyes and a concerned Gai hovering over him when Katsu came down the stairs, dressed in his own finery of violet and black that looked stunning on him.

"Ah, ready to go I see." He commented, noting the rose her assistant had braided into her hair.

"The children wish to see us before we go. I promised them we would stop by, Katsu-sama." She bowed respectfully.

"Then we shall." He agreed.

She exchanged good nights with the boys before following Katsu out the back door. The gate between the two properties was hardly closed behind them before they had fifteen over excited children and one barking inu surrounding them.

With a quick barked command from Katsu, all fifteen children and one inu snapped to attention and stood in a military line before them. This stunned her. They didn't look upset at having been barked at. They looked like soldier on a line.

"_His power with children is amazing." She thought in shock._

With the children calmed down again, he finally released them from their line. This time the siege was easier to bear. The girls commented on her outfit and jewellery. The boys just said she was pretty.

Katsu finally ordered them all to bed. They protested, but obeyed. She followed him off of the property and down the street to where gatherings of this sort were usually held.

The evening was nice and cool, the sky still bright even though the sun had set. The streets were only half full. She trailed after him; content just to enjoy the stroll before entering the hell she knew was awaiting her.

"_This is just a mission. No different from the time Asuma and I had to play these exact rolls on that mission to Kusa. I can do this." She thought determined._

On that mission they had infiltrated a large crime ring where women were property, nothing more. She had to act the obedient, broken, slave until they had reviled who they truly were and got to kill everyone. She had enjoyed that part.

The problem with having to act owned was that everyone got to touch her how they pleased. If Asuma had gotten defensive, their targets would have gotten suspicious. Oh it had been fun knocking a few of those skulls in.

"_This is no different from that time." She repeated to herself. "Alright, that time I still had my chakra and could defend myself if need be, but the principle is still the same." She tried to convince herself. "What are the parameters of my interactions, Katsu-sama?" She asked._

She wanted some guidelines to work with before she arrived. There was nothing worse then making herself look like a fool or getting into trouble. He glanced back at her. She was following a pace behind him as any obedient servant would, eyes caste down.

"We will arrive together. The other slaves will be there and you will be permitted to speak to them and anyone who approaches you first. I will be talking to my employers and you will not be invited to listen in.

"You will join me at dinner and remain by my side unless if I dismiss you after. It is likely I will talk to my employers again, at which time you will be dismissed. We will leave together when the dinner is adjourned. Any questions?"

"Ile." She answered.

The building came into sight and she caught sight of Kabuto and Shizune coming from the direction of the hospital. She assumed Kabuto, dressed rather plainly in a deep violet kimono, had just gotten off shift. Several others were arriving, but her eyes were on Shizune, who looked just as stunning in her black and gold phoenix print kimono as she did in her dragon print and walked with a grace that made Kurenai envious.

"_How does she pull that off?" She wondered._

They met at the door. She greeted both of them, remembering to add the –san to Kabuto's name and offering him a respectable bow. Kabuto acknowledged her, then all four of them entered together.

Katsu was summoned to one of the members of Akatsuki, she didn't recognize who it was, side almost at once. She bowed politely to him as he dismissed her, than followed Shizune to a corner where they could talk. Shizune politely excused herself from Kabuto, sharing a light kiss with him first. Kurenai wasn't sure it was an act either.

"You like him, don't you?" Kurenai accused her the moment they were alone.

"Like who?" Shizune countered, waving a hand is dismissal.

"Kabuto-san. You like him, don't you?"

"He has his qualities." She admitted.

"Like what, besides for being Orochimaru-sama's," she almost forgot to add the 'sama' as they were in public surrounded by their enemies, "right hand man."

"Well," Shizune was actually blushing as she answered, "he is a great healer, almost as good as Tsunade-sama. He really seems to care about his patients, no matter who their loyalty or ties are with. He is fond of children, especially Naruto-kun. All he talks about is how amazed he is at how far Naruto-kun has come.

"He has promised to show me some of the healing jutsu's he developed when the time is more appropriate. Until than, he has just shown me some minor ones."

"Wait," Kurenai interrupted, "How can he show you jutsu's if you are sealed?" She demanded.

Shizune just smiled at her.

"He unsealed you?" She asked in a demanding whisper.

Shizune nodded her head. "I am helping him at the hospital. He and Katsu-sama seem to get along and share the same passion for healing and children. You should ask to come one day."

"Katsu-sama invited me once, but I declined. I will accept if he offers again." She promised.

"Oh kami." Shizune suddenly swore.

"Nani?" Kurenai demanded, turning around to see what had caught Shizune's eye.

Hers eyes instantly found what had made Shizune gasp. Orochimaru and Anko had arrived, and Anko looked a thousand times worse then when they had last seen her.

No amount of makeup could hide the black circles under her eyes. She walked slowly; as if it hurt to move and every once in a while she would wince in pain. She spotted them and joined them the moment Orochimaru dismissed her.

"Come." Shizune ordered sharply as she grabbed Anko's hand and all three women retreated to the girl's bathroom where they could have some privacy.

No one was in there.

"Take that off and let me see." Shizune commanded.

"I am fine." Anko tried to defend herself, but her voice sounded strained.

"No you are not." Kurenai snapped at her.

"You can't do anything about it anyway." Anko tried to fend off, but did allow them to all but tare her kimono off, a black affair with emerald snakes coiled around it.

Her entire body was covered in bruises and bite marks. She looked underfeed and Kurenai suspected she wasn't eating right.

"Shit." Shizune cursed as she formed several seals before starting to heal the worse of the bruises and bites.

Anko stared at her in shock. "Shizune." She gasped.

"Orochimaru probably already knows or suspects, so if he asks feel free to answer." Shizune waved the question aside.

"Are you still not sleeping?" Kurenai asked.

"Ile." Anko admitted. "I get the odd snatch of sleep, but whenever he finds me sleeping, it usually leads to something worse." She answered, eyes caste to the side.

"I didn't think Orochimaru was this abusive. I mean, I know he is an S class missing-nin with a twisted dark streak, but still." Kurenai stated.

"He's mad right now. He wants Sasuke's body now that he can perform the jutsu, but Sasuke keeps evading him. He also wants Neji-kun, Shikamaru-kun, and Temari-san, but all three slipped right through his fingers during the invasion.

"He hates dealing with Akatsuki, especially Itachi. I think there is bad blood between them. Every time he is even near a member of Akatsuki, it pisses him off. He has been using me to vent his anger and frustration." Anko admitted.

"If he doesn't stop soon, he's going to end up killing you." Shizune cursed. "Your body is not going to be able to handle much more of this. I'll see if I can get Kabuto-sama to talk some sense into him." Shizune promised.

"We should return soon. They are going to notice something is up if we are gone for too long." Kurenai pointed out.

"Right, you go out first. Anko and I will follow in a moment. I am almost finished healing what I can with my limited supply of chakra." Shizune agreed.

"You are only partially unsealed?" Kurenai asked in surprise, hand on the door.

"Hai. I am being used to heal at the hospital after all, but I am still a slave." She would have added more, but their security was compromised with Anko there.

Kurenai nodded her head in understanding and left, waiting for the two of them at the snack table. She spotted a few more people she recognized from Akatsuki and Orochimaru's group. Ino's father was also here to her surprise. The blond haired Jounin spotted her and joined her at once. She almost hadn't recognized him with his hair down and wearing an elegant kimono, this one blue with white birds.

"Kurenai-san." He greeted.

"Yamanaka-san." She greeted back. "It is good to see others."

"Have you seen my daughter?" He asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Ile. But I know she is safe. She made it out with Shikamaru-kun and the others."

He sighed in relief. "Others?" He enquired.

"Hai."

She listed off the members of Shikamaru's group. Unfortunately she didn't know which twenty-two children made it out. She also informed him of who she knew was where, who made it out, and who was unaccounted for and believed free. It turned out Shikamaru and Choji's dads were also in his cell group. That didn't surprise her in the least. Those three had been friends since childhood, going so far as to have been on the same Genin team that had the same name as the one their respective children had.

"If any group can make it to Suna and back, it is that group." He admitted when she was done.

Anko and Shizune returned at that point, both greeting him warmly.

"Alara of the Kageken." Shizune noted.

"Huh?" Kurenai asked confused.

"My mistress." He answered, hand going to the velvet collar he wore that matched theirs.

"This is a good chance to see who else we can find and account for." Kurenai stated, looking around the slowly growing crowd.

"Perhaps. Only the mercenary leaders would be invited. Their second in commands would not be." Shizune stated.

"I belong to Katsu-sama, Shizune belongs to Kabuto, Anko to Orochimaru, Inoshi to Alara, that just leaves…." Kurenai hesitated, not knowing the names of the other groups.

"Yashero-sama of the Ryuujin and Kenari-sama of the Ryouken." Shizune filled her in. "Of the two, Kenari-sama was chosen for her bands ability to scout and track. She is most likely on the trail after Shikamaru-kun and the others, so it is likely she won't be here."

"She wont out-smart Shikamaru-kun, especially with Temari-san by his side." Kurenai stated firmly. "Those two are damn uncanny at their ability to strategize. And nothing can prepare anyone for Naruto-kun's ability to surprise people."

"Even if Kenari-sama were to catch up or find them, there is no way she would be able to effectively take a group of that calibre on." Shizune agreed. "That is where Akatsuki and Yashero-sama come in. Akatsuki is made of the strongest missing-nin in the world, including Itachi-sama, and Yashero-sama's group is full of full-blown fighters. Akatsuki already brought Kazekage-sama down once, so there is a good bet they can do it again." Shizune pointed out.

"They won't be found until they want to be." Kurenai stated again.

Anko hadn't made any input into the conversation. Her eyes remained on Orochimaru, as if she feared he would be furious at her if her attention wavered from him for a moment.

"Yashero-sama is here." She spoke up.

All four of them turned to watch a big, burly, scared, black haired, black bearded, almost pirate looking man walk in. He was a sight to behold and taijutsu was clearly his specialty. A young woman she didn't recognized was by his side.

"Who's that?" Inoshi asked.

"I don't know." Kurenai admitted.

"It can't be." Anko gapped.

"Who is she?" Shizune asked.

"That is Gekkou Mikazuki." Anko answered.

"Gekkou? Hayate's younger sister?" Kurenai asked.

"Hai." Anko answered, a sense of sadness in her voice.

Hayate had been killed during the chuunin exam that Orochimaru and Suna had attacked three years ago. The death had come as a shock, especially to his fiancé. No one ever did find out who killed him in the end.

Mikazuki followed Yashero around with a very defiant flair before he dismissed her. She ignored them and went to lean against a wall, watching Yashero with a narrowed gaze the entire time.

"Should we make contact?" Kurenai asked.

"Ile." Anko answered. "She is a civilian. She owns and runs a small restaurant."

Mikazuki broke her glaring at Yashero once to throw a glance their way. She nodded her head to them in greeting, than turned back to glaring at Yashero.

"She seems to be in a defiant mood." Shizune commented.

"She is good friend's with Shikamaru-kun's mother." Anko stated, her gaze once again on Orochimaru.

"Ah. Now there is a strong willed group of women who would have made good Shinobi." Shizune commented.

"They would scare half the men away." Inoshi stated.

"Or they would knock some sense into them." Kurenai pointed out.

"They are finished with their meeting." Anko said.

The other three turned to where their captors had been speaking. Sure enough, they were braking apart. Orochimaru waved Anko over. She excused herself and joined him, walking a little better, but still had that slumped, defeated, posture about her.

"She isn't looking good." Inoshi commented.

"Orochimaru-sama isn't treating her good. I fixed what damage I could." Shizune answered.

Kabuto and Katsu joined them. Shizune latched onto his side and whispered something none of them could hear into his ear. He gave a sharp nod of his head and the two of them excused themselves.

"They get along well." Katsu chuckled.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." Kurenai agreed as she took her place by his side.

"I haven't had the pleasure of an introduction." Katsu commented, his gaze on Inoshi. "You must belong to Alara-san." He noted the collar.

"This is Yamanaka Ino's father, Yamanaka Inoshi." Kurenai introduced.

"Ah yes. By now I am sure Kurenai-chan has already informed you your daughter made it out of the village. An amazing group of children. To avoided Kenari-san for so long in a feat none has ever achieved. She has not been able to pick up their trail and it is both frustrating and intriguing her. I truly do wish to meet them when Kenari-san finally manages to find them and they are brought in." Katsu commented, resting a hand on her waist as he did so.

She resisted the urge to step aside; once again reminding herself this was just a mission. She could put up with it. Besides, Itachi was here and his warning was still fresh in her mind.

"Alara-san." Katsu greeted as Inoshi's mistress arrived.

She was so ordinary looking Kurenai would have missed her even if the woman had been the only thing in the room. Your eyes tended to just graze past her until she forced you to notice her, then for some strange reason you couldn't tare your eyes off of her.

Alara tangled her hand into Inoshi's hair and leaned against him, forcing his head down so she could kiss him deeply before releasing him and moving her hand down to his waist.

Kurenai felt a little sick at the act. Shizune, Anko, Mikazuki, and herself were one thing, but Inoshi was married and had a child. Either he was withholding that information from Alara or Alara didn't care.

He hadn't asked about his wife or his friend's wives either. She assumed he knew where they were. All three of them were classed as civilians. His wife ran a flower shop with Ino's help, Nara's wife cared for the deer their family raised when her husband and son were busily being shinobi, and Akimichi's wife stayed at home and cooked all day to feed the voracious appetite her husbands and son shared.

"Katsu-san. I trust things are going well at the hospital?" She asked sweetly.

"Most of the injured from the attack, both our own and our prisoners, have recovered. There are still everyday injures from repairs and training of course." He answered pleasantly.

"And the children? I see most of the ones five or under have been permitted to return to their families."

"Indeed. The older ones are still being held at the school, where they have been permitted to continue their lessons, much to their disappointment." Katsu chuckled. "Once they realized no one was going to hurt them, this whole thing turned into an adventure. They are, or course, permitted to see their parents providing both side are well behaved."

"And of those of shinobi heritage."

"Those ones are Kabuto-san's jurisdiction, not mine. I believe they have had their chakra sealed like the rest and set the task of cleaning the place up, which I suppose could be seen as continuing their training." Katsu answered thoughtfully.

"Set as errand runners have they?"

"There are too many of them to lock four to a house, and they are not much of a threat to us, even had their chakra not been sealed. It is best to keep them distracted. The problem with children is they tend to be impatient and prone to do incredibly stupid things. Have you heard from Kenari-san yet?" Katsu asked.

"Hai. I haven't seen her this geared up about a mission in years. The children are still one step ahead of her. She has even gone so far as to call in her pack of tracking hounds and all of her birds."

"There has been no signs of them?" Katsu asked surprised.

"There was a fight scene with many dead otonin. Sasuke-san was the only one to have survived what appeared to be an ambush. He was injured, according to Kabuto-san who treated him. All the dead were from oto. I find it had to believe that even ambushed they would lose that many without killing at least one of their targets."

"I suppose they could have taken bodies with them." Katsu pointed out.

"Unlikely. I saw the scene. It looked like a massacre. The place was all but burnt to the ground and the trees had many cuts in them as if done by the wind. If I were to guess, I would say it was the work of Sasuke-san and the Kazekage's sister, Temari-san."

"You think Sasuke-san is betraying Orochimaru-sama?" Katsu asked curiously.

"I suppose someone else in that group could be good with katon jutsu's, but I doubt it. I think Sasuke-san has no further use for Orochimaru-sama and is severing his ties. Also, Sasuke-san spent many months training in that area with Kabuto-san, so I have no doubt he knows every nock and cranny of that mountain range, which would explain why Kenari-san has yet to find them."

Kurenai listen to the conversation in stunned silence. This woman's ability of observation and deduction was amazing. With a few small snippets of information, she had nailed the bird on the head.

"Am I right?" Alara asked.

It took Kurenai a few second to realize that Alara was speaking to her.

"Nani?"

"You talked to Sasuke-san and Kabuto-san before Sasuke-san left the village again. I am assuming he sought you out to inform you that your students were fine and what their plans are. Am I right?"

She didn't answer. She was completely stunned into silence. From so few facts, Alara had already figured everything out.

"I will take your silence and stunned expression as an affirmative." Alara chuckled. "Things are going to get interesting. Katsu-san, can you use that glass ball technique of yours to find them?"

"I would need a sample of their blood to home in on them and a medium, such as a mirror or something reflective." Katsu answered.

"What of a relative, such as a father's?" Alara asked with a smirk, absently running her finger through Inoshi's hair.

"_So much for her not knowing he had a child." Kurenai groaned inward._

Katsu chuckled. "That would work," his eyes also falling on Inoshi. "I would need time to prepare, a few days at most. I would need a lot of blood as well."

"How much?" Alara asked.

"At least a few pints. It need not be gathered all at once either. If you stop by the hospital, I could use a needle in the blood works lab. The more samples for various targets I have, the better the chance of finding them. The jutsu will only last half an hour at most and I will need to re-lock on the target every time, requiring more blood."

"I wonder if we can convince Itachi-sama to donate some of his?" She asked wistfully. " I would like to see just what Sasuke-san is up to."

"If your prediction is correct, then we will not need Itachi-sama's."

Kurenai didn't like where this conversation was going, and by the look on Inoshi's face, he didn't like it either. She was uncertain how much of his apprehension was concern for his daughter and how much of it was fear for the amount of blood they were talking about bleeding out of him.

The conversation was interrupted as dinner was called. Katsu led her to a table where Alara and Yashero joined them with their respective servants. She had Katsu on her left and Yashero on her right. She unconsciously shifted closer to Katsu. Yashero had a dominating presence about him that she didn't like and reminded her too much of a past she would sooner forget.

Dinner was served and she waited for Katsu to start eating before she dared to touch her plate. The three mercenaries talked about miscellaneous stuff between them while the three of them remained silent.

If it was one thing she would learn about Alara tonight other then her amazing deduction skills, it was that she was a person who seemed to enjoy body contact. Kurenai wondered how Inoshi put up with it. If Katsu tried to touch her like that, she would have fought him every inch of the way. Inoshi paid it no mind, seeming to ignore it unless Alara forced him into a position where he was commanded to return the affection.

Kurenai was amazed at how he kept his cool about it, never giving more then was demanded of him and always keeping it impersonal, as if he was merely acting out a play.

Yashero also pestered Mikazuki during dinner, but like Inoshi she accepted his attentions with disinterest. Her eyes never lost their defiant glare and she totally ignored what he was doing to her, as if her mind and body were two separate entities. Kurenai envied her for that ability.

Katsu continued to remain the gentleman, keeping his hands and mouth mostly to himself. Kurenai suddenly realized things could be a lot worse. She had no doubt that both Inoshi and Mikazuki had already been forced to bed their respective owners.

Dinner finished and all three mercenary leaders dismissed them, retreating to the main table to talk with their employers. Anko and Shizune rejoined them while Mikazuki went back to leaning against a wall and glaring at Yashero.

Anko looked haggard, but otherwise fine. She had a few fresh bite marks on her neck, which Shizune led her to the bathroom and cleaned up. While the two of them were gone, Kurenai took the time to fill Inoshi in on their talk with Sasuke and the group's plans, while warning him about revealing anything to Anko.

He nodded his head in understanding. Anko and Shizune returned. They spent the rest of the night filling each other in on what had happened to each of their groups since the invasion.

Each of them made a promise to try and stay in contact and to find out as much information about the whereabouts of the other Jounin and Chuunin.

Anko conveniently had to go to the bathroom so they could plan without fear of her being forced to reveal anything to Orochimaru. There was little they could do with their chakra sealed, but they could still set traps and other things should a counter strike be set.

Sasuke knew about their sealed chakra so it would be a good bet Gaara would send shinobi to unseal them. They would gather as much information as possible to pass on to Kabuto to pass on to Sasuke to pass onto Shikamaru and Temari.

Kurenai would be able to meet with Shizune at the hospital and meet with Inoshi if Alara and Katsu went through with their plan to try and find the children using a spotting orb technique.

She prayed the orb didn't transmit sound or they were going to have to find a way to let Shikamaru and Temari know they were being watched and monitored. Plans were useless if the enemy knew about them.

Anko had just returned from the bathroom when the meeting adjourned. They wished each other good-bye and good luck as they fell into step with their respective masters. Katsu placed a hand around her waist and pulled her against him as they walked out of the building and down the street a bit before stopping. When his mouth sought hers, she let him in.

When he pinned her against a nearby wall, she started to panic and pushed against his chest. She felt a set of eyes land upon her and a quick glance showed Itachi and Kisame walking by. Kisame was grinning evilly at her while Itachi looked as cool and collected as ever and wasn't even looking her way. She had no doubt he still noticed everything going on around him though.

"I can't breathe, Katsu-sama." She stammered out an excuse for her resistance, hoping Itachi would by it.

"My apologies." He pulled back slightly.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to accept his trail of kisses and feather light touches without resistance. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when the feeling of being watched finally left.

Katsu continued his ministration until they were alone on the street, than took a step back, studying her. He had felt Itachi watching them and noticed that was when she had giving in. Clearly his warning still had power over her.

"Do you fear I would hurt you, Kurenai-chan?" He asked.

"Nani?" She asked confused.

"Do you fear I will hurt you when I take my pleasure of you? Is that why you resist so much when you feel no ally is around to help you? When we are at the house where a single shout would bring your friends running, you accept my ministrations without hesitation, yet when we are alone like this, you tremble in fear." He explained.

She blinked in surprise, having not thought of that but knowing it was true the moment he said it.

"I…" She tried to find an answer.

Katsu grinned as he leaned back in, trailing kisses down her neck.

"I will not hurt you Kurenai-chan. Not unless if you give me a reason to. I do not mix pain with pleasure." He whispered in her ear, pressing his body against hers until she was pinned to the wall.

She started to feel trapped and pushed against him. To her surprise he took a step back.

"You do not like being restrained either, do you?" He asked.

She almost denied it, but decided against it.

"Hai." She admitted.

"A side effect of something that happened in the past perhaps?" He questioned.

She didn't answer, not wanting to remember. She had almost completely buried it.

"I see."

He took another step back, giving her some breathing space. He put his arms around her waist once more and they continued on their journey to the house. He seemed to be thinking and she left him to it.

How he had knowing something in her past had made her have a fear of being pinned and restrained frightened her. She forced herself to shake the memory away. It had not been real, only an illusion used by the enemy to torture her.

They made it back to the house. It was dark and she could distinctly here Asuma snoring lightly, Gai mumbling about beating Kakashi in his sleep, and Kakashi shifting restlessly in his bed.

She was surprised Katsu let her use the bathroom to take her hair down and wash her make-up off. She also slipped out of the Kimono and wrapped her housecoat around her. It would be easier to change in then the Kimono.

Katsu was already in bed when she walked in, turning the light out beside her. She went to the drawer to grab her night gear, but Katsu's voice stopped her.

"You will not need that. Take that robe off and join me." He ordered.

She froze in shock, but obeyed. It was dark in the room so he couldn't see much anyway. When she went to crawl over him to her customary place in the corner, he stopped her.

He moved her position until she was straddling his lap while he was leaning against the wall. His chest was bare and she couldn't tell about his legs since the blanket separated them.

"Kiss me." He commanded.

She took a deep breath and obeyed. He gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Kiss me like I kiss you." He commanded, his voice growing rougher.

She took a breath, reminded herself this was just a mission, that the children's lives depended on it, and proceeded to trail kisses down his neck. Katsu leaned back against the wall and she had to use her hands on his chest to steady herself.

She let out a quiet yelp of surprise when his hands trailed down her back. He moved forward and caught her mouth with his own before sternly ordering her in a whisper to keep it quiet.

She nodded her head in understanding. She did not want to be caught in this position by the other three. Asuma and Gai would try to fight Katsu and she just knew Kakashi wouldn't let her live it down for the rest of eternity.

She tried to ignore his hands, concentrating on what she was doing, not what he was doing. He shifted suddenly, pinning her beneath him, the blanket still separating their bodies.

She felt panic rise up and she started to struggle against him as the blanket pinned her arms against her side. He watched in fascination for several seconds as she thrashed against him until he caught her head and forced her eyes to meet him.

She slowly started to calm down, but her body was still rigid with fear and her eyes were wide.

"Tell me what happened?" He commanded.

"Nani?" She asked, confused and still terrified at her inability to move.

"The reason you fear to be pinned by one you deem to be an enemy. Tell me what happened to cause this fear."

Her mind was slowly being caught in two places. She needed to get free. She needed air. She whimpered and thrashed against him, trying to get free.

"I will let you up if you tell me, agreed?"

"Hai." She answered without hesitation.

He shifted them around until she was leaning against his chest, her bare skin touching his. She took several deep, calming breaths. He gave her a few seconds to compose herself.

She tried to curl her legs up to cover as much of her body as possible, but he stopped that with a stern order. He placed gentle kisses on her neck, brushing her hair over one shoulder as he did so.

One hand was wrapped around her stomach to hold her against him while the other absently stroked her breast. When she regained her compose, she tired to stop the action, but a quick bite to her neck caused her to jump in surprise and she took the silent, if painful order, to heart.

"Tell me." He whispered into her ear, kissing and caressing where he had bit her with his tongue to sooth the pain he had caused her.

She closed her eyes and permitted herself to lean against him as the fear and the pain of the memory came back to haunt her. She took one last, deep breath, and told him;

(break)

It was a mission they should not have been assigned to, but with the village too depleted after Kyuubi's attack, shinobi were short on hand and they found themselves taking missions that were better off left to Jounin.

Freshly promoted to chuunin a mere four weeks ago, they had been assigned what should have been a simple data retrieval mission. She had been fourteen at the time, her two team mates had been with her since the academy and they worked well together.

The infiltration went well and they had been ready to pull out when the trap the enemy had set had been sprung. She had been the one carrying the scroll containing the data they had needed. Her team mates covered her retreat; the information they had discovered was vital to Konoha. She hadn't wanted to leave them behind, but Konoha needed this information.

She knew they were doomed. They knew they were doomed, but they tried to give her as much of a head start as possible. They had been able to give her one, not much of one, but a small one. She managed to make it to a drop off point where scrolls or information could be hidden to be found later by others if the bearer felt he or she would be unable to make it.

Once the scroll was dropped in the tree trunk to be found by another Konoha shinobi who would be assigned to check the drop points, she continued her flight for Konoha. She made it another mile before they caught up to her.

She barely had time to notice they were there before something cracked into her skull. She went flying to crash painfully into a tree. In her daze she was vaguely aware of two men searching her person for the scroll. When they didn't find it, another sharp spasm of pain flared across her head.

When she had awoken with a splitting headache sometime later, it was to find herself curled up in a small box, back, head, knees, and toes touching the four corners. She had no room to move.

(break)

Kurenai began to shake in his grasp as she paused in her recollection. He gave her a few seconds to compose herself before pushing her for more information. Her eyes were squeezed shut and tears were trickling down her face, but she did continue, her voice shaking as she continued.

(break)

She never saw who her captors were. She was always blindfolded and bound tightly. Attempts to escape were reprimanded with a sever beating. They demanded to know what she had done with the scroll, and she refused to answer.

They had tortured her mercilessly, preferring the use of Genjutsu's as opposed to needles and hot iron brands. It was the only time her blindfold was removed, and all she got to see was a set of green eyes before the Genjutsu would hit her.

Everything from watching her friend being tortured to death to experiencing physical torture herself was shown to her. The worst of it was when they would show her being buried alive to slowly suffocate to death. That one they loved to use the most.

(break)

Kurenai was trembling so hard in his grasp now that it might have been mistaken for a seizure. He found it odd they would only use Genjutsu to torture her. It was an effective, but costly method, and tended to only be used when the prisoner was to be kept alive afterwards or if they showed a strong resistance to pain. Katsu doubted it was for the later reason, and couldn't help but to wonder why her captors wanted her alive and well when they finally got the information they wanted.

When she calmed down again, he asked her that very question. Her body started to tremble again as she answered.

(break)

They eventually gave up on her. Three weeks had reviled nothing and they were beginning to think she was telling the truth when she said she didn't know where it was. Now they no longer had any use for her, she expected to be killed. That did not happen.

She was forced back into her little box of a cell. After the Genjutsu of her suffocating, she couldn't stand the cramped space anymore and would scream and struggle against the walls until she would ware herself out. Her captors would laugh and make bets about how long it would take for her to work herself to exhaustion.

She would eventually ware herself out enough that she would fall asleep. When she woke the next time though, it was not to be interrogated, but to be sold. Apparently the one man she had managed to kill during their run was the younger brother of this little group's leader, and he wanted to pay his respects to her.

(break)

Her entire body was almost going into convulsions with the memory. Katsu didn't push her any further. He could guess what had happened, why her interrogators hadn't marred her skin. It was so their leader could fully appreciate her. No wonder she had such a fear of being pinned, especially under a man she considered to be an enemy.

Katsu felt sick. To have taking a fourteen-year-old girl against her will was a crime worthy of a painful, horrible death. Even by most outlaw and bandit rules the rape of a child was severely punished.

"How did you escape?" He finally asked once she had calmed down.

"I didn't." She answered in a trembling voice. "The scroll had been picked up and a team was sent to investigate. They raided the base, demolishing it in the process. Genma found me in the wreckage afterwards. He was kind enough to lend me his jacket and carried me back to Konoha. I was in no condition to walk."

He had no doubt this man who had used her had hurt her in ways a fourteen-year-old would not have been able to understand, let alone handle. He was sure female shinobi were giving lessons on what to expect in such a situation, but that lesson was not taught until they were at least fifteen since sixteen was the accepted stage one was considered to be adult enough to torture in such a manner.

He didn't agree with that number and upped the age to eighteen for his own interrogators purposes. At least at eighteen most were likely to be experienced enough not to be too traumatized by the event to be useful and would know what was about to happen to them. Many had broken before his men had to use that last resort, and he made sure it was a last resort for those under twenty-one, of torture.

"Surly that was not your only experience with a man?" He asked.

"Ile." She admitted.

"But the pain of the memory still haunts you. I see. You do not like to be pinned, so I assume the act of making love must have been strained, making it far from pleasant. Am I correct?"

She nodded her head.

"I also assume your friends know of this past and are leery of approaching you for sexual pleasure."

"Ile." She answered. "Only Genma and the medical staff who treated me upon my return know what happened. I could not hide how I was found."

"_Tied to a bed and freshly used, I would guess. Most likely blindfolded as well." He thought._

"I see. So you sought them out to try and prove to yourself that it could be pleasurable, but because your fear would force you to freeze up, it must have made for an unpleasant night, though I doubt painful in anyway, just unsatisfying."

"I didn't seek them, I just didn't say no when asked." She corrected.

He shifted her around until she straddled his lap again.

"And I bet they were not very experienced either, were they?"

"At the time, no." She admitted.

"At the time? My dear Kurenai-chan, when was the last time you took someone to bed?"

"Five years ago." She admitted.

He blinked in surprise. She hadn't bedded someone in five years? He chuckled, causing her to snap that defiant, angry glare he loved at him.

"We will have to change that."

He felt her stiffen in his lap, fear starting to take over her eyes.

"Not tonight though. You are far too tight and exhausted from your recollection of the past for me to make it pleasurable."

He nibbled on her neck, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against his.

"You have not had an experienced partner. I will show you how pleasurable it can be." He promised.

Her body began to tremble in fear in his arms. He rubbed her back soothingly.

"I will not hurt you, Kurenai-chan. I will make a deal with you. If you feel too frightened to continue, I promise I will stop and try again after two days. But if you stop me the first time, I will not stop the second. Do you agree to these terms?"

She was trying to push away from him, but he held her steady.

"You are the slave, and I am the Master. I do not need to make concessions. I could take you here and now if I desire and no one would stop it. I could take you however I desire, lend you out to whom ever I desire. Think on that.

"You do not need to answer now, but you will answer tomorrow evening. Either way I intend to taste your body, as is my right. I am giving you the choice to please me on your own without the pain of having me force it out of you."

He finally released her. She rolled off of him and curled up against the wall, clutching the blankets to cover her naked body as if she feared he would take her now.

"_I may have pushed her to far. Clearly her first experience with her captor had not been pleasant. She expects me to repeat what he did to her." He turned his back to her, offering her a little privacy as she composed herself, forcing old wounds that had been forced open and bled to close up again. "She must have suppressed the memory and it only comes up when she is pinned or restrained. This is probably the first time in many years she had to face it fully."_

Katsu moved to the edge of the bed to give her space. No wonder she didn't sleep well at night. Being pinned between him and the wall was probably forcing a mild set of panic attacks to hit her.

* * *

Gekkou Mikazuki; Other then right there she is never mentioned again, at least not in this arc or the second arc. No need to remember her. Funny how her name just came to me while I can't think of names for Ino, Shikamaru's and Choji's moms. Sad. 

I had no intention of doing that to Kurenai's past. It just sort of came out of my fingers and into the story. Ah well, other then that one ugly moment assume her past is rather normal for a shinobi.

Special thanks to NissanNut for doing all her hard research for names. I got both e-mails yesterday. I didn't think names were giving so if anyone has suggestions they would be appreciated.

Thanks to; bakusensei, GaMeBrEaKeR, Teal Colored Eyes, dragonzair, Queen Dopplepoppleous, and NissanNut. With so few reviews reading your long, appreciative ones really keeps my spirits up.

Next chapter; Cave of History.

Shikamaru and Temari make it to the cave that will lead them through to Suna, but meet resistance in the form of Yashero and Kenari, who finally catch up to them. When they are finally cornered the way to freedom may lead them further from their goal then anticipated.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 10

Cave of History

Temari finally took pity on him and gave him his clothes back, but only after they had spent half the day leaning against the wall and playing several games of Go. He won most of them, but he was pleased that they were not easy wins. Playing against Temari helped to keep his mind sharp as she constantly challenged him.

At noon they started to pack up. He only sent out those of Jounin level to scout and patrol. Hinata checked Neji and Kiba just to be sure before clearing them to go. Sakura had woken up once, been forced to eat something by Hinata, than pounded a berating Naruto into the nearest wall before going back to sleep.

The sun was now setting, everything had been packed up and Ino and Choji where decommissioning the camp site to make it look several days old just encase their pursuers discovered it.

Sometime during the day rain clouds had moved in and a steady drizzle was falling from the sky that showed no signs of letting up. On the up side the rain would cover their tracks and damping their scent if the enemy was using scent hounds. The clouds would block the moonlight, covering them in darkness. On the down side everyone was going to get soaked, meaning the flu could settle in and they would also be moving blind.

Shikamaru briefly toyed with the idea of staying another night, but Akamaru had picked up the scent of a second wave of searchers that were almost on them and they had delayed long enough. They had no choice but to move.

The children were nervous, but the twelve Genin and Iruka managed to keep them as calm as possible giving the situation. Gaara created his Suna sleds, complete with roofs to keep the kids and gear dry. Hinata also ordered Sakura up on one.

Shikamaru expected a fight over the issue, but Hinata, Ino, and Temari heeded off any argument Sakura made and in the end she was sleeping peacefully before they had even left the cave.

Shikamaru changed the line up slightly and everyone got into position and they set out at his word, the world a dark gray around them as the last of the sunlight faded away. Everyone was soaked within minutes, but no one complained. Other then the children, only Gaara remained dry, using his Suna as a shield.

Kiba, Hinata and Akamaru were in the lead with Sasuke. Temari and Shikamaru followed them with Tenten trotting beside them to act as messenger. Ino followed next in front of the first sled. Choji and Konohamaru stood in front of the second, Iruka and Genma in front of the third, and Kankurou in front of the fourth suna sled. Each sled had two Genin running at the front with a pair on the back of the last sled, one on either side. Shino followed the last sled, flanked by Gaara and Lee. Neji and Naruto took up the rear position.

All three Hyuuga children had their byakugan fully activated. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated as well and Kiba and Akamaru had their noses to the air, for what little the damp weather couldn't hide.

Soon enough visibility all but disappeared and their forward momentum slowed to a fast walk. Shikamaru held back a curse as he tripped over the kami knew what number root. Beside him, Temari wasn't so quiet about it.

"Tenten, ask Gaara-sama how high he can get those sleds up. I want to know if we can take to the trees. We must be leaving a trail a blind child could follow." Shikamaru ordered.

"Hai." She saluted and fell back.

The rain had let up sometime ago, but it was still drizzling. He was wet, cold, had scrapped knees and hands from constantly tripping, and was almost positive they would not make it to the caves by sunrise.

"I hate rain." Temari stated from beside him.

He didn't answer, conserving his attention to the task of not tripping on another root. Tenten returned soon enough and confirmed that Gaara could easily have the sleds hover that high.

With a sigh of relief, Shikamaru ordered them into the trees. Now up in the branches, things were slightly more visible without the shadow of the trees blocking what little light there was.

The Genin were ordered onto the sleds and they picked up the speed to a pace only the Jounin and Chuunin would be capable of in the circumstances. Several times they had to stop while Sasuke tried to get his bearings in the dark.

It was just starting to get light out when Akamaru started barking and Lee materialized next to him.

"We got a group of people and their Inu on our tails." Kiba shouted back.

"Neji-kun reports there are several trackers coming up behind us." Lee reported at the same time.

"How far back?" Shikamaru demanded.

"A few hours. They will catch up to us in two hours min." Lee answered.

"Have the picked up our scent or is it just coincidence?" Temari asked.

"A bit of both I would guess. Our trail was probably clear, but all this rain is probably still confusing their sense of smell. Ask Naruto to use his Kage _Bunshin_ no Jutsu to leave some clones behind to set traps and slow them down," Shikamaru ordered.

"Roger." Lee saluted and fell back.

He relayed Shikamaru's orders, surprised that Naruto had already predicted what Shikamaru and Temari wanted of him and had done so the moment Neji had sounded the alarm.

"How much longer till we reach the caves?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke.

"Two hours min." Sasuke answered.

"Tenten, alert the others we have been targeted." Temari ordered as Shikamaru talked to Sasuke.

"Hai."

Tenten fell back, informing the other Jounin and Chuunin they had been found and were being pursued. Hinabi picked up the intruders an hour later when they came within range of her own Byakugan.

(break)

The children were starting to panic so Naruto did the only thing he could think of. He used his power of charisma and made a speech that drove the fear out of them. A lot of it had to do with him being the next Hokage, but he threw in a few good words for Shikamaru, Temari and Gaara.

"Several have got tangled in your traps, they are moving slower." Neji reported. "The hounds seem to have picked up our scents. The leader appears to be a woman. She wears no forehead protector and the crest on her chest in unknown to me."

"What does the crest look like?" Naruto asked.

"An inu with a flacon flying over it." Neji answered.

"Take that up to Shikamaru and Temari." Naruto ordered Lee.

Lee ran up to Shikamaru and Temari, passing the information along.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked once Lee was gone.

"Fine." Neji answered immediately.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a horrible liar?" Naruto grinned.

"I am fine." He protested again.

"Drop the byakugan." Naruto ordered sternly.

"Nani?" Neji looked at him surprised.

"Drop the Byakugan. Hinata-chan had been keeping your chakra points sealed and even I can tell you haven't had much time to recover any chakra back. Your sweating like a pig and your steps are starting to falter. Sakura-chan didn't waste all her chakra getting you back on your feet just so you could kill yourself with exhaustion trying to prove a point."

"We need to keep our eye on our trackers." Neji pointed out.

"Hinata-chan and Henabi-chan can already see them. If they catch up we are going to have to fight and we can't afford to have you out of commission before the fight even begins. Drop the byakugan or I will force you to drop it." Naruto ordered sternly again.

For several minutes nothing happened, then Neji's eyes returned to normal. Naruto smiled slightly as they continued their race through the trees. Lee came back to join them, passing on Shikamaru and Temari's orders to pick up the pace.

They sky was starting to lighten now and breaks in the clouds were showing. Shikamaru ordered them back to the ground and the Genin rejoined the formation now that they could see where they were going.

Able to see clearly once more, Sasuke no longer hesitated in leading them. He cursed slightly and shifted south-west. In the dark they had drifted a little off course.

Naruto finally picked up the scents of the inu and humans following them. He passed the information to Lee and Neji reactivated his Byakugan to spot them before turning it off again.

Lee ran to the front again. This time Tenten came back instead of Lee to join them. She seemed surprised Neji didn't have his Byakugan activated and questioned it at once.

Naruto explained while Neji concentrated on running. Naruto had been right about his chakra levels and it was by pure, stubborn will he was still moving at all. Tenten looked at him concerned, but having been his team mate for five years, decided not to push the issue. She knew him too well.

"Sasuke says we are almost there. It's in that mountain ahead of us. Gaara-san is going to erect a suna shield behind us to slow our pursuers down." Tenten reported.

The scent of their pursuers continued to gain on them until Naruto was sure they had to be within firing distance. Lives now in potential danger, Neji had no choice but to reactivate his Byakugan.

"Tenten, two at six forty five and one at five twenty two." Neji suddenly ordered.

Naruto almost yelped when Tenten spun around in mid leap and threw three kunai. The sound of collapsing bodies and the scent of blood reached him. Neji had said the two of them had been training like this for years, but this was the first time Naruto had seen it and he was impressed.

Tenten's movements could not be hidden from the children. In the lead Hinata warned Shikamaru and they picked up the speed again. Naruto, Tenten, and Neji fell back with Shino to give then some working space.

All four of them walked backwards slowly, the caravan getting further ahead of them.

"Two at two forty three and five at ten seventeen," Neji called again.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._" Naruto yelled as he created his clones and sent them to their right where Neji had seen the five.

Screams of fear reached them before Naruto's clones made it and Neji spared a glance at Shino. Naruto also glanced at Shino with a grin.

"This is why we could have used you when we got Gaara back, and when we went after Sasuke." Naruto stated.

"I was on more important missions." Shino stated calmly.

"What's more important then rescuing the Kazekage?" Tenten asked, her kunai finding her targets as Neji called them out to her.

Shino didn't answer and they really weren't expecting him to. One didn't share information about high-class missions.

"They are getting smarter." Neji commented; his breathing laboured now that he was almost out of chakra. "They are hiding behind the trees now and seem to be waiting."

"Drop the byakugan Neji." Naruto ordered.

"But…"

"Do it. Shino. Call out their locations to Tenten." Naruto ordered.

"Hai." Shino answered, calling out the positions his kikai had marked for him.

Tenten threw her kunai and shiruken at the locations Shino called. Not as many hit now since Shino didn't understand the code Neji and Tenten had been using. But a few screams of pain let them know Tenten still hit.

"Damn." She cursed. "Take this bastards. _Nimpou_; _Kamaitachi no Jutsu_." Tenten shouted as she spun a Windshiruken around to create a wind.

"Nani." Naruto gasped as blades of wind whipped out from the windshiruken, granted not nearly as strong as he and Temari could do. "When did you learn that?" Naruto demanded, stepping forwards while Neji stepped back so they stood back to back like they had done countless time during their six-month hunt for Akatsuki.

"Temari-chan taught me while I taught her to hit a target." Tenten answered.

"So that was what you two were doing. I was wondering." Naruto grinned.

Shino called out more targets for Tenten to hit. Naruto grinned, then decided to show off.

"You are not bad, but allow me to show you how it is done." Naruto grinned.

"Nani?" Tenten asked.

"_Kamaitachi._" Naruto shouted, pulling out his little fan with Kyuubi on it and waving it in front of him.

Unlike Tenten's blast, this one tore trees down. Finally, their enemies managed to get into a good position and reorganize. Kunai and Shiruken rained down upon them. Tenten picked them off with her own weapons and Naruto countered with his fan.

"Alright, we need to delay them as long as possible without letting anyone get passed. Shino, I will leave you to cover our head with your Kikai. Tenten, take as many out as you can with Shino." Naruto ordered.

"What of you and Neji?" Shino asked calmly.

"Heh, don't worry about us. We've been in tighter sports then this. Go. Catch up and let Shikamaru and Temari know we will catch up." Naruto finished.

"But…" Tenten protested.

"Go." Neji ordered calmly.

"Hai." Tenten agreed.

"Get ready." Naruto ordered.

Shino and Tenten prepared themselves.

"_Kamaitachi._" Naruto shouted, waving his fan in a 300-degree arc, leaving his back to Neji, who deflected the attacks coming at him from behind.

Tenten and Shino bolted forward, leaving Neji and Naruto alone.

"Got a plan?" Neji asked once they were gone.

"They want us alive, so they can't kill us." Naruto explained.

"Us? So we are to be the bait?" Neji confirmed.

"Only for so long. Come out already you stupid hag." Naruto shouted into the trees.

"Humph." A female voice answered as a woman appeared before them, a pack of small, red, greyhound like inu by her side.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded.

"My name is Kenari and I will be your pursuer for this hunt." She stated officially. "You gave me one hell of a run. If you tell me where the others are I will make sure you are handed over in one piece." She offered.

Naruto chuckled.

"Gomen. 'Fraid we can't do that. See, Kyuubi doesn't want to work for Akatsuki and Neji would sooner die then be a slave to Orochimaru. We have to reject your offer, but thanks for asking." Naruto answered.

"I see. Bring them down then." She ordered.

"Ready." Naruto asked in a whisper.

"Hai." Neji answered.

A rain of needles, poisoned no doubt, came flying at them.

"_KAMAITACHI!"_

"_KAITEN."_

The needles went flying away to be scattered in all directions. Kenari and her allies covered their faces as dust whipped about in every direction. Under the cover of the dust storm, Naruto finished off the move.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Henge._"

Naruto and Neji ran together out of the dust, running to the right. Naruto's clones, half of them transformed to look like Neji, scattered.

"Shit." Kenari cursed. "Spread out and hunt each one down." She ordered.

With the wind whipping around her hounds couldn't hunt them down by scent right away. Naruto and Neji ran together. It wasn't long until Neji began to falter due to his low chakra. Without hesitation, Naruto flung him over his shoulder, much to the Hyuuga's protest.

"Shut up and use your Byakugan to find the others." Naruto snapped, cutting him short.

"First you tell me not to use it, now you are telling me to use it. Make up your mind." Neji complained as he activated his byakugan.

"We got two on our tail. Think you can get your clones to take them out?"

"Hai. But I can't duplicate your Byakugan, if they get away they will know what direction we went in." Naruto answered.

"Their inu will pick up our scents soon enough. We need to catch up to the others."

"Can you see Tenten and Shino?" Naruto asked.

"Hai. They are in the clear. Most of our pursuers are busy chasing your clones around. We are also clear, can you put me down now?" Neji demanded.

"Ile. We need speed right now. Which way to Shino and Tenten?"

"To you're left a little. Naruto, can you please at least change this position. Watching the ground rush by is making me dizzy." Neji complained.

"Then close your eyes, cry baby." Naruto smirked.

Neji resisted killing the blond haired loud mouth by sheer force of will alone.

"With the byakugan activated, closing my eyes isn't going to do any good." He stated through clenched teeth.

"Then shut it off." Naruto commented.

"Turn it off, turn it on, don't use it, use it. Make up your damn mind Naruto." Neji hissed as he turned his Byakugan off.

Naruto chuckled.

"You are turning into a cry baby." He chuckled.

"Shut up."

They caught up to Shino and Tenten fast enough. Tenten looked at Neji in worry, but didn't say anything.

"Which way Shino?" Naruto asked.

"Huh?" Tenten asked confused, wondering why Naruto was asking Shino.

"Straight ahead." Shino answered.

"How?" Tenten asked.

"The Kikai of course." Naruto answered.

"Shino's bugs?"

"Right." Naruto grinned.

"We are getting close." Shino said ten minutes later.

"Can I walk now?" Neji asked.

Naruto almost called him a cry baby again, but decided not to embarrass him in front of Shino and Tenten. With a grin, he dropped Neji off of his shoulder, not slowing down as he did so. Neji rolled along the ground until he came to a stop against a tree, head on the ground and rear in the air.

"Hurry up, Neji-chan." Naruto shouted back.

"I am going to kill you." Neji promised as he forced himself to his feet and chassed after them, going a little unsteady at first as he got feeling back into his legs and his dizzy spell finally went away.

They came to a cave soon enough, Gaara and Sakura waiting for them. The moment they entered, Gaara covered the entrance and they raced after the others using Shino's Kikai and Sakura's flashlight.

They continued to sprint until they caught up with the others. Gaara had been forced to drop his Suna sleds in the tight space and the children were forced to run. Sasuke was still in the lead with Kiba as they brought up the rear.

Time had no meaning in the dark caverns. They were forced to slow to a walk as the path became treacherous.

"The wall is down." Gaara reported sometime later.

"Nani?" Naruto demanded. "How?"

"I don't know, but it didn't last a second against whatever tore it down." Gaara answered.

"Shit. Shikamaru, we got followers." Naruto shouted.

(break)

Naruto's shout reached his ears. The first thing that went through his mind was relief that the others had caught up safe and sound. The second was a curse.

"Sasuke, is there anyway to lose them down here." Shikamaru asked him.

"Not if they are tracking us by scent." Sasuke answered.

"We could collapse the tunnel behind us." Temari suggested.

"If the area is unstable we could bring the mountain down on us." Shikamaru countered, the thought of being buried alive under several tons of rock frightened him.

They continued to run, the older kids picking up and carrying the younger when they grew too tired to continue. No warning had come from Hinata or the back yet so he assumed the pursuers hadn't caught up.

The children were getting exhausted and Sasuke had already led them through many twist and turns until he was hopelessly lost. Something about the cave was bothering him. This place looked like it had been traveled and every once in a while he would spot what looked like old, dried, blood.

"Sasuke, what is this place?" Temari asked, having made the same observations as him.

"I don't know. Kabuto-san thinks it was used as a retreat years ago and that a large group of people came through. There is a side path from the one we are taking that continues to show the same signs. Kabuto-san and I never explored far into it since there is a large canyon. A bridge expanded it once, but it is destroyed." Sasuke explained.

"They are catching up." Hinata suddenly reported.

"How soon?" Temari demanded.

"Ten minuets." She answered.

Naruto's shout from the rear came to them then. Neji must have activated his Byakugan to check behind them again.

"How far to this canyon?" Temari demanded.

"It's the next turn." Sasuke answered.

"Take us to it." She ordered. "Lee-san, get Gaara up here."

"Hai."

Lee fell back to get Gaara.

"We are going to have to make a stand, better across a ravine then in these tunnels where we can't defend the children." She explained to Shikamaru's questioning look.

"Gaara's suna to create the bridge." He clued in with a smile. "If Kabuto-san can't make it across, then it is unlikely our pursuers can. If Kabuto-san is right about a group of people having used this rout as an escape rout, then there has to be a way out." Shikamaru reasoned.

"Right." Temari agreed.

Gaara joined them as Sasuke led them to the left, the signs of a mass retreat still visible.

"They are almost on us." Hinata reported.

"There." Gaara stated calmly as he sent his suna ahead of them to bridge the gap, using what was left of the old bridge to help close the distance.

The old bridge looked like it had been a natural formation before it had been forced to collapse, no doubt to cover the retreat of those who used it years ago. Hinata, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru and Temari were the first across the bridge, not hesitating at all.

"_Nani?" Shikamaru thought in shock. _

Bones, blood, and what appeared to be claw marks littered the floors and walls. Burn marks and dents from jutsu's also scorned the walls. Half the bones looked like they were from human children. The rest looked like they were from Oni or youkai.

"What happened here? Why are the bones of children littering the floor?" Temari gasped.

"It looks like there was a battle here." Lee stated, looking around.

"Human sacrifices maybe?" Kiba suggested, looking slightly sick.

Akamaru looked very unnerved. His fur was up and he was half whimpering half growling. Kiba got down on one knee and tried to get some sense out of his partner.

The rest of the group made it across the bridge, Naruto going last next to Gaara. Both boys looked pale and were trembling slightly. Shikamaru had no time to worry about them or Akamaru as the enemy appeared on the other side of the ravine.

"Move." He ordered.

He led the others out of the room and through the tunnels, trying to ignore the bones and battle damage that littered the way.

Temari, Naruto and Tenten held back, knocking down the projectiles thrown at them with there respective _Kamaitachi no Jutsu _attacks. Temari did the most damage, followed by Naruto and Tenten.

Temari even switch, as did Naruto, to a more devastating wind attack that sliced their opponents to shreds before they wisely took cover. All three of them walked backwards until they were safe in the tunnels and out of attack range.

Naruto fell to the floor, breathing heavily, his face pale.

"Naruto-kun, what is it?" Temari asked concerned.

"Kyuubi is restless. There is something demonic about this place. He can sense it. Cover me for a moment Temari-chan, I need to talk to him. Stop Shikamaru-kun. For something to bother Kyuubi it must be important and the way ahead might hold more danger then the way back."

"Hai, Tenten, go ahead and stop Shikamaru-kun from moving too far forward. See if you can find an alcove we can rest in." Temari ordered.

"Hai." Tenten ran forward while Temari picked up Naruto and carried him, stopping when she found Gaara and Kankurou.

Like Naruto, Gaara was trembling and Kankurou was trying to help him keep a grip. If Gaara lost it they wouldn't need to worry about the humans behind them, they would have a youkai amongst them.

Shikamaru found a small alcove almost immediately. The children were put at the back to rest and eat. Temari and Kankurou hovered over Gaara and Naruto, both of whom were looking paler and breathing heavy.

"Watch me." Naruto asked Temari, than seemed to go into a trance.

"Right." Temari agreed, standing guard over him.

A glance to her side showed Kankurou sitting in front of Gaara, who was mumbling to himself, curled up on the floor with hands clutching his head. She hadn't seen him that bad off since his fight with Sasuke over three years ago.

She spotted Akamaru and Kiba. Akamaru was looking as bad as Naruto and Gaara. She knew animals had a stronger instinct with the supernatural and figured Akamaru must be picking up whatever it was that was irritating Kyuubi and Shukaku.

(break)

The sound of dripping water reached his ears as it always did when he entered this place. Why the sealed place looked like a sewer with pipes and everything confused him, but he didn't question it. He made his way to the room Kyuubi was sealed in, having walked this path many times in the past.

"Oi, baka Kitsune. What's up?" Naruto shouted as he entered the room with the giant, golden gates held closed by a single seal.

Unlike his first visit, it was light in here now so he could see all of Kyuubi and the large cell he inhabited. Kyuubi was huge, his claws bigger then him. Right now the kitsune was pacing in the small space, his tails thrashing in agitation behind him. Naruto had never seen Kyuubi this unnerved before.

When Kyuubi spotted him, he stopped his pacing and laid down, trying to act cool and collected, but his twitching tails gave him away. Naruto had known him too long to be fooled by the act.

"Kit, where are we? Why do a feel this youki that is stronger then my own?" Kyuubi demanded.

Naruto blinked in surprise at Kyuubi's second question, but answered the first, filling the Kitsune in on what had happened and where they were, going as far as to give an in depth analysis of the caves and their suspicions. Kyuubi had helped him out of tight spots in the past and had been able to see thing even Shikamaru and Temari had missed.

A thousand years of life tended to make one wise. There was little Kyuubi hadn't seen in his life. Naruto was one of those things, which was why the kit intrigued him. And the more he entertained Naruto, the more the boy returned to speak to him, braking the dull, lifeless cell and covering the constant, irritating drip with his voice. Even one such as he would go insane if left in solitude for so long.

The more Naruto trusted him, the more of his soul the boy let out until their had even been times Kyuubi got to see the world through Naruto's eyes. It was these glimpses that kept the Kitsune sane. Their merging was almost on par with Shukaku and Gaara now so Kyuubi could see through Naruto's eyes and speak to him at will.

The seal was still strong enough that Kyuubi had to 'knock' on Naruto's door to be let in and the boy showed no signs of changing that. Still, Naruto rarely denied him so it didn't bother the Kitsune much. He was an ancient, patient creature and Naruto still amused him to no end.

He didn't like where Naruto's explanation was leading. He already came to a conclusion he was sure was right, but feared it to be so. He needed a second opinion. He needed to talk to someone as old and experienced as him, who would remember the days of old. He needed to speak to another youkai.

"Kit, I wish to speak to Shukaku." Kyuubi stated.

"Nani?" Naruto demanded, shocked Kyuubi would wish to speak to the other youkai.

"I wish to see and speak to Shukaku. The possessed boy, Gaara, is here." Kyuubi repeated, his voice so serious it almost frightened Naruto.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do." Naruto promised as he left.

(break)

Shikamaru did a head count and was pleased to see everyone was accounted for and that, other then Neji being out of Chakra and covered in several bumps and scrapes, compliments of Naruto, everyone was relatively unharmed.

Sakura was fully recovered after her long nap and was in the process of berating Neji for tearing himself up again so soon after she wasted all of her chakra healing him. In short, she was looking very scary and Neji seemed to be looking for an escape from her, but Ino, Tenten, and Hinata had him pinned against a wall, arms crossed and scowling in a way that only women seemed to be able to pull off.

He glanced around for Temari and found her next to Naruto, Gaara, and Kankurou. Naruto and Gaara looked like hell and Temari was hovering over Naruto with a concerned look on his face.

Iruka and the Genin had the children in a corner and were feeding and calming them down. Choji, Shino, and Lee were standing guard at the entrance to the alcove just in case the enemy somehow managed to get across the ravine or find an alternate rout.

Kiba was hovering over Akamaru while preparing food for the rest of the Chuunin and Jounin. Shikamaru ordered Ino and Tenten to help, sparing Neji from at lest two sets of scalding eyes and mouths. Unfortunately Sakura and Hinata had every right to berate him.

With the others seen to, he walked up to see what was wrong with Naruto and Gaara, Genma joining him. Kankurou looked scared and Temari looked concerned.

"What is going on?" Shikamaru asked.

"Kyuubi wanted to speak with Naruto-kun, so Naruto-kun is talking to him." Temari answered.

"Nani?" He asked shocked.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. He's been talking to Kyuubi for over three years now so he can handle himself." She waved his concern away. "It's what's disturbing Kyuubi and Shukaku enough to make Gaara and Naruto-kun uncomfortable that we should be worried about.

Naruto's eyes opened and he blinked to focus them for a second.

"Well?" Temari asked.

"He's scared." Naruto stated. "He wants to speak to Shukaku. It seemed important."

"Shukaku wants to speak to Kyuubi." Gaara said through clenched teeth.

"He seem scared about something to you?" Naruto asked.

"Ile." Gaara answered. "More nervous then anything."

"Temari, Kankurou, find us a good place to do this." Naruto ordered.

"Right." Both of them nodded their heads and left the alcove they had taken cover in.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Shukaku and Kyuubi need to talk. Something has them spooked. I think it is best to find out what has managed to spook two youkai of their calibre then to meet it." Naruto stated.

"They will not get out of control." Gaara promised, seeming to regain his composure now that Shukaku had been pacified. "You have my promise as Kazekage."

Shikamaru shared a look with Genma, silently asking for the older, more experienced man's opinion. Genma seemed as uncomfortable about the situation as he did, judging by the way he was chewing on his needle.

"It's your call." He finally stated.

"What are you going to do?" Shikamaru asked.

"We found a good place." Temari reported, coming back into the room, helping Gaara up. "Shikamaru-kun, help Naruto-kun." She ordered.

Shikamaru supported Naruto as Temari led them deeper into the tunnels until they found another, small room. She set Gaara down, indicating for Shikamaru to do the same.

The moment they were out of the little room, Kankurou formed strings of chakra to seal the entrance. Temari placed seals on the chakra gate, than stepped back.

"Ready." She stated.

"Alright."

What happened next would remain in his memory forever. Gaara's transformation was almost instant. His gourd cracked and he was covered in suna until he looked like a raccoon. The eyes were yellow with four black dots surrounding his pupil. Shukaku's voice was high pitched when he spoke.

Naruto's transformation was longer. Red chakra swirled around him, taking the image of Kyuubi. His nails grew into claws, his teeth into fangs. His eyes turned red and were slit. Kyuubi's voice was strong and calm.

"Damn Kitsune." Shukaku squealed. "You lent your power to a whelp of a boy to defeat my vessel."

"The fact this kit could defeat you without asking for my help until the end makes it amusing, Shukaku." Kyuubi grinned.

"Why do you let him live? You should destroy that seal and destroy him and his friends. Let the blood run in rivers to quench your thirst." Shukaku laughed.

"Baka. This kit amuses me. Never in my one thousand years of life have I met an individual such as this one. But our vessels are not what we are here to discus. You can feel it. It is 'his' without a doubt."

"He is dead. Killed by those pathetic children he enslaved." Shukaku laughed.

"His presence should not have lingered this long. His spirit must be fed."

"No doubt some cult has taken to worshiping him and offering sacrifices." Shukaku dismissed.

"Who?"

Shikamaru and Genma had to blink before realizing it was Naruto who had asked the question. It had been Naruto's voice, but the body had not changed.

"You let your vessel retain control? You are weaker then I thought Kyuubi." Shukaku snorted.

"I was not sealed in a mere tea pot before being transferred to multiple hosts, Shukaku. I was defeated by the descendants of those that defeat 'him'." Kyuubi retorted, anger in his voice as he shot a glare that Shikamaru was positive was on him and Genma. "You were sealed by the savages of the Sabaku. I was sealed by the warriors of Seika." Kyuubi roared back.

"_Seika_?" Shikamaru wondered.

Why would Kyuubi consider them to by the warriors of Sacred Fire? Sure the county was fire country, but Sacred. Shikamaru filed the information away for later.

"Who is he?" That was Naruto's voice again.

The grin on Shukaku's face sent chills down everyone's spines.

"Vouma-sama." Shukaku answered. "The strongest of the Vouma to ever exist. His true name is lost in history. Compared to him, Kyuubi was nothing more then a fly." Shukaku laughed.

"He is dead then. The power that is making you twitchy is a shadow of him?" Shikamaru asked, just to be sure.

"If you could feel this power, food, you would die from fright." Shukaku snarled.

"How was Vouma-sama defeated?" Temari asked.

"No one knows exactly how he fell." Kyuubi answered. "It is recorded that he got too comfortable with his human slaves and let his guard down. He held one of the strongest empires in the world, ruling the entire eastern ocean and it's surrounding cost lines. Judging by the looks of this tunnel and the feel of his presence, it was here he was killed. I would bet you would find his body at the bottom of that canyon.

"Vouma-sama was immense, his movement would have been restricted in his true form, and so he must have fought in his, weaker, humanoid form. No doubt his slaves knew this and used it against him. Kit, I wish to leave this place at once." Kyuubi snapped.

"Hai, baka kitsune." Naruto voice came from his body once more.

The red chakra slowly dissipated and Naruto's human appearance returned. He glanced at Shukaku.

"Shit." Shukaku snarled as his body began to melt into suna and reform into the gourd on Gaara's back.

Gaara and Naruto stood facing each other for several minutes, than shared a nod.

"Temari, Kankurou." Gaara said simply.

"Hai." They both responded, removing the strings and the seals.

"What did we learn?" Gaara asked.

"You don't know?" Shikamaru asked.

"Unlike Naruto, I must remain unconscious for Shukaku to take over." Gaara answered.

Naruto filled him in as they walked back to the room. Shikamaru was pleased to see the children were sleeping, Neji was safe from Sakura and Hinata, and that food was ready.

"Where did you go?" Tenten asked as they returned.

"To scout ahead a little." Naruto instantly answered.

The others didn't need to know Kyuubi and Shukaku had been free, even if they were trapped on the other side of a field. Some things were best left unmentioned.

"We will rest here, then continue on. By now our pursuers will be finding a way to cross that gap and looking for alternate routs. We will continue down this tunnel in a few hours." Shikamaru ordered. "Naruto, Genma-san, Temari, Gaara-sama."

All four of them joined him as they sat down to discuss the next move. They had no idea where this tunnel was going to lead them, let alone how long it was. The news Kyuubi and Shukaku had shared with them was disturbing, but there was nothing they could do about it so it was best left ignored for now.

* * *

Well, now we know more about Kyuubi's past. There will be more later on. Next Chapter we skip back to Kurenai. She will give Katsu her answer, assist Shizune on her rounds at the hospitable, and meet up with Kiba's older sister.

Dragonzair; thank you for your long review. Somehow the comedy just works itself in. Since it has been requested I went back and added a few little scenes with Kurenai and Asuma. Remember. This story is already typed and ends on 406 pages.

Bakusensei; I am glad I was able to get you intrigued in the other characters.

JohnnyG; The story is so varied that it is heard to write a good description when you are only allotted two small sentences. Took me forever to make even that little fit right.

Nissan Nut; Opps, sorry about that. I wasn't thinking when I wrote that. That's the problem when one is online. Gender is usually lost. Katsu won't spy on them. As you will learn the technique takes a lot of chakra. Jiraiya is being held with Tsunade and the two revered elders, can't think of their names at the moment, by the leader of Akatsuki, who's name hasn't been reviled yet.

Neko-jin-orange; Thank you for the name. I am glad you decided to review. Even something so little as 'good chapter' helps.

GaMeBrEaKeR; Thanks for the review. I can't say what will happen to Katsu yet, but it is planned, of not typed yet.

Queen Doppolepoppleous; I was worried about the OC's. Unfortunately a lot more on the way, but other then a few I will regulate them to the back ground. I personally don't mind OC's if they have personalities that fill in holes the main character's can't take. Due to popular demand, if four people can be called popular demand, I went back and added a few Kurenai/Asuma scenes.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer; don't own Naruto.

**Warning; This chapter contains scenes of sexual intercourse and a warning will be posted before the scene for those who wish to skip over it.**

Chapter 11

Overcoming the Past

She didn't sleep at all that night. The morning light drifted through the window, letting her know it was morning. Katsu's breathing picked up from beside her. She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep as he woke, shifting and stretching as he did so.

"Morning." He greeted.

The bed shifted as he rolled on his side to face her. Briefly she toyed with pretending to be asleep, but decided against it.

"Morning, Katsu-sama." She returned.

His had grasped her shoulder and rolled her around until she faced him. No doubt she had shadows under her eyes from crying and staying up all night. He grinned and shifted closer to her.

She shifted back until she hit the wall, unable to go any further. He grinned as he pinned her against it. She felt another panic attack coming, the memories he had ripped open playing through her mind again.

"_This is going to hurt bitch. I'll show you what we do to little girls who kill our family." The voice sneered._

"I will not hurt you, Kurenai-chan." He whispered.

"Katsu-sama."

"_Little slut. Scream for me. Let me know how much you enjoy this." The voice grunted cruelly into her ear. Pain flared in her abused body._

"I will not cause you pain unless you force me to." Katsu added.

"Katsu-sama."

"_Cry for me. Scream for me. Beg me for it." The voice commanded. Sharp teeth tore into her skin, leaving scars that would take years to heal._

"I promise I will make it pleasurable." Katsu promised in a whisper, his mouth nibbling on her neck.

"Katsu-sama. Please stop." She asked, her voice hitched.

"_Please, stop. STOP. Please, Master, stop." Her younger voice rang in her ears. The pain didn't stop, it got worse._

Katsu's mouth disappeared from her neck. She blinked as she looked at him, her mind slowly coming back to reality. He had stopped. She had asked him to and he did!

"I see. Your mind is still caught in two places. Have you considered my offer?"

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She answered once she had regained her composure.

"And?"

Pain. Blindness. Restrained. Cruel laughter. A commanding voice ordering her to beg, ordering her to scream in pain for his pleasure.

Gentleness. Light. Soft mumblings of encouragement. Freedom.

Katsu was as different from that man as could be. She had already promised him her body in exchange for the children freedom, but he hadn't pushed. She had no more excuses. A shinobi of Konoha always kept their word.

But promising something and actually doing it was two different things. She could do this. She had promised to do this. Kento, Kiri, Inuki, the others needed her to be strong.

"I have decided to accept your terms." She admitted, feeling as if even more weight had been added to her shoulders.

"Good." He grinned as he caught her mouth with his own.

She was still pinned against the wall and started to panic. He chuckled and shifted around until he was against the wall. She started to calm down now she was no longer pinned.

One hand caressed her skin softly while his mouth softly nibbled her neck. She was no longer pinned. He was caressing her softly, his mouth warm and moist against her skin. Her body shivered at the light touches.

He stopped his caresses and grinned at her before climbing out of bed. She averted her eyes as he changed before leaning back in to take another kiss from her.

"I am glad you have decided to accept my offer, Kurenai-chan." Katsu grinned, before leaving.

She remained in bed for several minutes, trying to regain her composure before getting out and dressed. Breakfast was ready by the time she got downstairs. Katsu and Geki were already gone.

"Morning." She greeted them.

"Morning. How did things go last night?" Asuma asked, handing her a plate of breakfast.

She froze at the question before realizing he meant the meeting and not what Katsu had done to her or demanded of her.

"I found a few more people." She answered.

"Who?" Kakashi asked.

"Inoshi-san. He's got the same position as Shizune and I." She answered.

"You saw Inoshi-kun?" Kakashi asked surprised.

"Hai. His team mates are with him." She answered. "Hopefully we will be able to keep in touch if Katsu-sama and Alara-sama go through with this plan of theirs."

"What plan?" Gai asked.

Taking a deep breath, she told them the plan to spy on the kids, and how Alara had been able to nail down Sasuke's betrayal with but a few snippets of information. So far Alara had no intention of going to Orochimaru about it. It seemed none of the mercenaries were all that respectful of him. Kabuto was on their side and had been slowly unsealing Shizune.

Anko could not participate in organizing the counter strike for fear of Orochimaru finding out about it. She would meet with Shizune at the hospital and with Inoshi when they would meet for this blood using, seeking jutsu Katsu planned on using.

Kakashi, Gai and Asuma didn't like the description of this jutsu at all. It sounded similar to what the former Hokage, Sarutobi, use to do with his glass ball. She couldn't stay long to discus plans as the children and Katsu's guards would be expecting her.

She thanked Asuma for breakfast before leaving. The children spent most of the morning telling her how pretty she and Katsu had looked. At lest the girls did. The boys were wrestling and practicing their taijutsu's until she called a stop to it before they were caught.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Practicing for the counter strike of course." Kento answered as if it were obvious.

"Who said anything about a counter strike?" She demanded. "And who said you would have a part in it if there is one?"

"Well, we haven't had our chakra sealed like everyone else." Kento pointed out. "So we have to fight." He concluded.

"You will be doing no such thing." She snapped at him.

"Kurenai-sensei, Katsu-sama is here." One of the girls shouted excitedly. "And he's got candy." She added in a loud squeal.

She was instantly forgotten as the kids rushed to the windows. Katsu was coming towards the house and he did have a bag full of sweets. The kids jumped into a line as he walked through the front door.

"Good after noon, Katsu-sama." They chimed together.

"Saw me coming did you." He chuckled.

All fifteen pairs of eyes followed the bag of treats.

"Have you been behaving for Kurenai-chan?" He asked.

"Hai." Fifteen voices chimed.

He glanced at her.

"They have been as good as expected of children their age." She answered, not wanting to lie and not wanting to spoil their treat either.

"I see. Well then, I trust everyone's room are clean, right?" He asked.

"Ano…"

"I will be up to look in five minutes.

The children bolted to their rooms. Katsu chuckled as he set the bag of treats down on the table.

"Will you come to the hospital with me? Two of your Genin fell from a tree they were climbing up in an attempt to get some debris out of it. Alara-san and her pet will also be there. I trust you will want to see him again?"

"I would like to accompany you, Katsu-sama." She agreed.

"Very well. You will not show resistance to my advances in the public eye." He stated. "Do you think you can do that?"

"Only if you don't pin me against something, Katsu-sama." She answered honestly.

"I shall try to remember that." He grinned. "Come, let us check on the children than."

She wasn't shocked to see each room spotless, but she was sure things had been shoved under beds and in closets. Katsu didn't check these. He just smiled and handed each child his or her treat before leading her out of the hotel and to the hospital.

It was an overcast day, not hot or cold. It wasn't raining, but looked like it might at any moment. They arrived soon enough.

"Kurenai-chan, Katsu-sama." Shizune greeted them, Kabuto by her side.

Both of them were sitting together, clearly resting and taking a break.

"Shizune, Kabuto-sama." She greeted back.

"Kurenai." Kabuto greeted. "Here to see the two squirrels?" He asked.

"Hai, Kabuto-sama." She answered.

"Good. They have been very stubborn about being treated." He chuckled, pushing his glasses back up on his face.

"What room are they in?" Katsu asked.

"Room 327." Kabuto answered.

"Right, Come, Kurenai-chan."

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

She followed him up two flights of stairs to the third floor and down a hall to room 327. Two genin were moaning in their beds with a guard watching them. By the looks of things, they didn't trust their captors at all.

"Kurenai-sensei!" They exclaimed as she walked in.

"Hi." She greeted. "I heard you wanted to imitate squirrels." She chuckled.

"Ano…." They blushed.

"Katsu-sama wants to look at you. Will you let him?" She asked.

They looked past her to Katsu, who was smiling and holding up some left over treats.

"Hai." They both agreed.

"Arigato." She smiled as she stepped aside and let Katsu work.

"How you two doing today?" He asked warmly, giving them each of them a small box of chocolates in their good hand.

"Good, Katsu-sama." They both answered, tearing into their treats.

"Alright, I need you to tell me where I hurts so I can fix it."

He spoke to them cheerfully, and they responded in kind. Without a headband to indicate if he was with Sound or Akatsuki, the children felt like they could trust him more. She assumed they had been afraid of Kabuto because he was from sound.

Katsu took his time healing them, engaging them in conversation to distract them. Everything from the weather to favourite flavoured ice cream was discussed. She was surprised when Katsu dragged her into the conversation, but answered his and the kids questions.

When he was done, he sternly ordered them to rest before leading her back downstairs. Kabuto was gone, but Shizune was still there, finishing the lunch they had been sharing.

"Where did Kabuto-sama go?" Kurenai asked as Katsu waved her over to join Shizune

"There was an emergency he was called to." Shizune answered.

"You really like him, don't you?" Kurenai asked.

"Ile." Shizune answered, blushing. "Maybe a little." She admitted.

"What do you see in him? I mean, he is Orochimaru-sama's right hand man. He betrayed Konoha." She pointed out.

"He also healed Hinata and helped Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura get through the second test of the chuunin exam." Shizune countered. "He was the one who put everyone to sleep so you wouldn't have had to fight amongst panicked civilians, and so casualties were down to a minimum."

"Oh." She hadn't known any of that and was stunned to hear it. Now she knew how Hinata had miraculously recovered from her injuries after the invasion.

Katsu rejoined them briefly to hand her a plate of food before excusing himself to go back to work. She was to stay in the hospital, free to visit whom she wished. Shizune waited for her to finish eating before taking her on her rounds.

"Who is in here? Anyone I know?" Kurenai asked.

"Mostly just injured genin and civilians. The genin seem to forget they can't do as much without their chakra and take foolish risk." Shizune explained.

"I see."

She followed Shizune as she went through her rounds, treating and checking on the civilians of Konoha who were currently admitted. Like she had claimed, most of them were genin who had hurt them selves. Most didn't trust Sound at all, preferring Katsu's men or Shizune to treat them. A few she recognized. None were from families who had warrants out.

"This is the last one." Shizune stated, stopping outside of a door in intensive care. "It might come as a shock to you. She took a bad hit during the invasion. She refused to go down."

"Who is it?" Kurenai asked, apprehension in her voice.

Shizune opened the door; the sound of equipment whirling reached her ears at once, as did the growls of three inu. They stepped in and closed the door behind them. Kurenai spotted the inu first, and the feeling of dread reached her. She knew these three.

Her dread rising, she followed Shizune up to the bed. The three inu whined.

"Kiba's sister." Kurenai gasped.

"Hai."

Kiba's older sister looked like hell. She was pale and swathed in bandages. Her three companions didn't look much better. Each of them had bandages wrapped around them and their fur was matted and falling out, not looking lustrous at all.

"They refuse to leave her side. Katsu-sama and Kabuto-sama were able to get them in and treat them, despite the fact neither on has any experience with Inu. The will only accept food from me."

"What happened to her? I thought most of us were taking down with minimal damage." Kurenai asked.

"She fought Yashero-sama. He's the one with the warrants out for the Inuzuka clan. She refused to give in, fought him tooth and claw until he finally over powered her."

"Their mother?" Kurenai asked, dreading the answer.

"Yashero-sama fought her earlier and was able to bring her and Kuromaru down. I know they are still alive, but I haven't seen them. It was Kiba's mother who gave him those scars in the first place back during the war." Shizune answered.

"What are her chances of getting better?"

"Fair. She just took a lot of trauma. We aren't sure when she'll come out of it, but Kabuto-sama refuses to give her to Yashero-sama until after she has recovered. Yashero-sama seemed upset at first, but backed down easily enough. Apparently he is a patient man."

"The most dangerous type." Kurenai stated.

"Hai." Shizune agreed.

The door opened and both of them turned to see who entered. All three Inu growled at first, then backed down when they recognized who it was.

"I figured you would be here." Kabuto stated as he joined them.

He looked exhausted and still had bloodstains on him.

"What was it?" Shizune asked.

"A brawl between two mercenaries. They injured several civilians in the process. Fortunately, two of Katsu-san's men were on the scene and were able to prevent any deaths. The two men are being dealt with by Akatsuki now." He answered, pushing his glasses back up his face.

"Will you need my help?" She asked.

"Ile. The situation has been dealt with."

He checked over Kiba's sister before turning his attention back to them.

"Alara-sama and Yamanaka-san are here. I believe Katsu-sama is looking for you, Kurenai."

"Where are they?" She asked.

"In the blood works lab, first floor to the right of the main entrance. Just follow the signs."

"Thank you, Kabuto-sama." She bowed her way out.

She walked through the halls, unable to get the image of Kiba's sister out of her mind and fearing for the safety of his mother. The one meeting she had of Yashero had left a terrible impression on her. He seemed like the type to dominate and cause pain.

She could hear Alara and Katsu speaking from an open door; Blood lab writing on the wall above the door. To her surprise, Inoshi wasn't the only one Alara had brought. Shikamaru's father was with them. Choji's wasn't. She thought she vaguely remembered him having a deathly fear of needles.

"Ah, Kurenai-chan. I see Kabuto-san found you." Katsu greeted her.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She answered, taking her place by his side.

Alara was all over Inoshi while Shikaku was looking anywhere but at them, his fist clenched in a clear effort to stop himself from doing something foolish to the woman molesting his childhood friend and team mate.

"Shall we start then, Katsu-sama?" Alara asked, relinquishing her hold on Inoshi.

"Hai." He agreed.

Kurenai walked over to join Shikaku while Katsu directed Inoshi to sit in one of the chairs used to take samples. He looked apprehensive, but didn't resist.

"Inoshi told me the others made it out." Shikaku stated quietly, his eyes locked on his friend.

"Hai. Shikamaru-kun and Temari-san are leading them." She answered, just as quietly. "Do you know where your wives are?" She asked.

"Hai. All three of them are free to go about their business. We were permitted to see them once to prove they were alive and fine. What does Asuma, Gai, and Kakashi think of your situation?"

"They don't know." She admitted.

Shikaku broke his gaze from Inoshi to glance at her in surprise before returning it.

"Katsu-sama isn't so open about it. They think this collar means I am a caretaker for the children under my care. I haven't done anything to let them think otherwise. Gai and Asuma would do something reckless if they found out." She pointed out.

"And Kakashi-kun?"

"He's smart enough not to do something stupid." She suddenly grinned. "He actually suggested I use my womanly charms to try and seduce Katsu-sama."

"Oh?"

"I introduced his head to my frying pan." She stated coldly.

"I see." Yep, women were scary.

"We are pretty much left alone. Katsu-sama and Geki-san, that's our other guard, are gone all day. I am next door taking care of the children and the others gamble for food all day. Asuma is going through nicotine withdrawals. You guys?"

"Akimichi is going through food withdrawals, Inoshi spends all day trying to get Alara-sama off of him, and I spend all day trying not to kill her." He answered.

"She doesn't leave or do anything?" Kurenai asked surprised.

"Her specialty is infiltration and sabotage. It was her group that had half of Konoha drugged before we even knew we were under attack. When she does leave, she often takes Inoshi with her."

Their conversation was halted when Katsu finished with Inoshi and Shikaku was called over. Inoshi joined her while Shikaku took his place on the chair.

"I hate needles." Inoshi commented, rubbing his arm where Katsu had stuck him.

"Wan-chan?" She asked, noticing the puppies on the bandage.

"Only thing he could find." Inoshi stated, forcing himself to quit rubbing it.

"What do you think of this technique?" She asked.

"It would be nice to see if the children are alright. I worry about my daughter." He admitted.

Kurenai nodded her head in agreement.

"Shikaku doesn't seem to like Alara-sama much." She commented.

Inoshi actually sighed and leaned up against the wall beside her, crossing his arms and turning is gaze to the woman in question.

"She is very, touchy." He said carefully. "Shikaku disagrees with her being so friendly with a married man."

"I disagree with it. She does know you're married, right?" Kurenai asked.

"Hai." He answered. "Doesn't stop her, just seems to encourage her to flaunt it. Katsu-sama seems more courteous." He observed.

"He made a deal with me." She admitted.

"A deal?"

"Hai. My slavery in exchange for the safety of fifteen of the children with warrants on their heads; including Kiri-chan and Kento-kun." She answered. "I saw Kiba-kun's sister today. She's in intensive care and looks like hell. Kabuto-sama and Katsu-sama are treating her and refuse to hand her over until she is healed. Unfortunately, Yashero-sama, the one with the warrants out for the Inuzuka clan, already has Kiba's mother."

"Yashero-sama looks like one who enjoys inflicting pain." He stated softly.

"Hai. I pray she will be all right. How did Alara-sama claim you anyhow?"

"She walked in the door after our Tenketsu points had been sealed, glared at us, walked up to me and stated I was hers, handing me the damn collar. Things went down hill from there." He answered.

"I can imagine. I take it she doesn't hide anything?" She asked.

"She doesn't even wear clothes when she gets her morning tea." He grumbled.

Kurenai blinked at that. At least Katsu didn't walk around the house naked, just their room.

"What do Gai, Asuma and Kakashi think of your situation?"

"They don't know. Katsu doesn't flaunt it. They think this collar means I am a child ward." She answered.

"I see. Katsu…"

"Hasn't touched me yet." She finished when he trailed off. "But he won't hold back for much longer. If anyone has noticed, or will notice, it will be Kakashi, and he is wise enough not to let Asuma and Gai find out. Those two would do something stupid, especially Gai."

Katsu finished with Shikaku, setting the labelled blood aside. Shikaku rejoined them while Katsu and Alara spoke quietly to each other.

"Neko-chan?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Want to trade?" Shikaku asked Inoshi.

"Ile." He answered.

Alara finished up her conversation with Katsu quickly, gesturing her two charges over and leaving. Katsu cleaned up before mentioning her to his side.

It was late now and he led her out of the hospital and down the street, clocking out as he did so. He didn't lead her back to the house, instead heading in another direction to a high-class restaurant that featured small booths for privacy.

She was surprised, but didn't complain as she took a seat beside him, the waiter taking his order before leaving.

"I trust you had a good day." He stated, moving next to her until their thighs were touching.

She felt her heart begin to beat faster and apprehension rose.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She admitted, taking a sip of her water to try and cool her down.

Her hands shook a little, but she managed to act some what cool and collected.

"_I am not pinned. This will not hurt me, just annoy me." She repeated to her self._

She took a deep breath and managed to calm her racing heart, easing some of the tension away. Katsu rested his arm behind her, but not on her. She had the other side of the booth open to her. She was not restrained or pinned. She had open space. She could deal with this.

"You do remember our deal?" He asked.

"Hai." She answered. "I remember."

"Good."

He caught her face with his other hand and turned her head to face him. He caught her mouth with his, leaning slightly against her, but not enough to push her back into anything.

She was frozen in shock at first, but forced herself to relax. She had promised not to resist. She had to do this for the children. He broke the kiss, but didn't pull back.

"Return my affection." He commanded in a whisper.

She froze in shock, than hesitantly began to comply, using images of the children to distract her. He moaned against her, moving in closer, but still being careful not to pin her.

So engrossed in what she was doing, she was completely shocked when he pulled away from her, just as their food arrived. His smile was full of satisfaction as he shifted away from her to give her some eating space.

She took a few seconds to regain her compose before setting to her own meal. They ate in silence, and she was thankful for it. Her mind was too distracted to concentrate on anything, let alone conversation.

They finished at the same time, the waiter came and took their plates away and asked if they would like desert. Katsu declined and they were left alone again.

"You seem to be fine when you are not pinned." He stated.

She didn't answer, preferring to draw on the table with the water left from the glass rims.

"Come, let us return home. It is getting late and I do intend to hold you to your promise." He stated as he stood up and slid out of the booth.

She followed him silently, her heart racing with each step they took towards the house. It was already getting dark; the streetlights turning on at they went. The boys were in the middle of gambling using cookies as chips when they walked in.

"_What will they think up next?" She wondered absently._

"I will see you at twenty-two hundred." Katsu stated as he went upstairs.

A glance at the clock showed she had half an hour to prepare herself for the inevitable. She joined the boys, stealing one of Kakashi's cookies and eating it.

"Oi." He protested.

"You got lots." She countered.

Indeed he was winning again. It seems Gai was horrible at poker. Asuma was holding his own against Kakashi.

"What did you learn today?" Asuma asked.

She filled them in, occasionally stealing a cookie from Kakashi's pile to eat until he moved them away from her fingers for their own safety. She pouted a little, but gave up trying to steal them.

The others were as concerned as she was for the Inuzuka family, but conceded there was nothing they could do about it. They were glad Inoshi, Shikaku, and Akimichi were doing fine, as was Shizune.

The clock chimed Twenty-two hundred. Each chime felt like a death toll to her, but she forced a smile on and bid the boys goodnight. She stopped at the bathroom, brushing out her teeth and getting the cookie crumbs out. She hated having cookie crumbs in her teeth.

She worked slowly, delaying the inevitable. Finally, she had to admit defeat. She left the bathroom and paused out side the bedroom door before opening it and steeping in. Several candles lighted the room. The scent of oil reached her nose and she noticed oil warming in an oil burner.

Katsu was already naked and laying on his side in the bed. She averted her eyes as she stepped into the room, taking her time to undress and put her kimono away. She could feel his eyes on her and she felt suddenly shy and embarrassed.

She stood up and turned to face him. His eyes drifted up and down her body once.

"Beautiful." He commented. "Come join me."

She walked hesitantly up to the bed and sat on the edge. Katsu shifted back, patting the bed beside him. She shifted until she was lying on her side, facing him. He was smiling slightly, shifting over again.

"Lay down in the center, on your stomach." He commanded.

She blinked, a feeling of apprehension hitting her, but did shift into position. She had been used in this position by her captor years ago and it had hurt more then anything. Katsu seemed to have something else in mind as he crawled over her until he was sitting on the edge.

She kept her eyes averted, hands clenched into fist. He brushed her hair to the side and placed several, soft, wet, warm kisses on her neck. She relaxed a little. His hands found her back, spreading the sweet scented oil around.

"Relax, Kurenai-chan. I told you already I will not hurt you. I do not lie." He whispered encouragingly as his hands moved to sooth knots out of her tense shoulders, moulding chakra into it at the same time.

Despite herself, she felt herself relaxing, enjoying the feeling of his warm hands work her tight muscles. She wanted to protest when he stopped. She was completely relaxed now, all apprehension gone. This was just a mission.

She turned her head to look at him and he wiped his hands off with a cloth. He had a slight grin on her face.

"Move over and let me have the center." He commanded.

She shifted over next to the wall as he took the center. He grasped her hands and pulled her towards him until she was resting on his chest. He brushed her hair out of her face before bringing her head closer so he could kiss her.

**Warning; Sexual content next.**

His hands stroked her back softly, causing her body to shudder. He shifted her some more until she was straddling him. It was easy to remain calm when she wasn't pinned or restrained. This was no different from a mission.

His hands shifted to stroke her breast. He stopped kissing her and pulled her away slightly.

"Are you ready, Kurenai-chan?" He asked, his voice husky with desire.

"Ready?" She asked confused.

He grinned at her confusion, then grasped her hips and shifted her into position. She was shocked as he pulled her down onto him, moaning in pleasure as she embraced him.

She was stunned, having never heard of or thought of bedding someone this way. She was on top of him, completely free with no walls or bed to be pinned against. He let her adjust to him and this position she was clearly inexperienced with before pulling her hips against him and rising his own to meet her.

She was resistant at first, but slowly started to rise and fall on her own, the feeling unlike anything she had ever felt before. Katsu groaned in pleasure beneath her and she felt a strange sense of power overcome her.

She tried to see what other reactions she could get out of him, shifting around. He mewed in pleasure, his hands alternating between squeezing her overly sensitive breast and running gently up her back.

She gasped as a wave hit her, collapsing on top of him suddenly exhausted. He came to his peak at the same time, and both of them lay panting for breath.

As she calmed down, a sense of horror started to hit her. What had she done? How could she have enjoyed it? She forced the thoughts aside as she rolled off of him to curl up against the wall, feeling like a frightened child.

He chuckled as he brushed her cheek with one finger, wiping the first tear away. She was horrified to notice she was crying.

"Be at ease, Kurenai-chan." He said softly. "You did wonderful for your first time. Did it hurt?" He asked.

"Ile." She admitted.

"I told you it would not. Remember, you agreed to this the moment you put the collar on. I did not force you. I could have taken you the moment Konoha fell. I expect my patience to pay off." He stated, stealing a kiss from her before rolling over, pulling the blankets over him, and going to sleep.

She remained awake for some time before crawling under the blankets to seek warmth and finally falling asleep. All her mental arguments came back to the same point. He was right about everything. She had promised to do this and she did owe him for the amazing amount of patience he had giving her while waiting for her to fulfill her vow.

* * *

Big thanks to all my reviewers. I appreciate them so much. Next chapter; the confrontation between Kenari and The refugees. How will they escape this time? 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 12

The Other Side

Everyone got a well-deserved rest before they started out again. Torches gathered for their expected journey through the cave were lit as they headed out, conserving the batteries of the flashlights for emergencies.

They walked in silence in the same order they had last time. Akamaru, Naruto and Gaara got less twitchy the further from the gorge the got. The signs of a mass retreat continued to persist and they were able to restock many weapons from the remains.

Temari found a piece of metal that hadn't been worn out, a bit of the cloth that had once held the headband on its long dead owner still attached. She rubbed the grit off of it and showed it to him.

"A phoenix rising I think." She offered, the design on the metal one they were unfamiliar with.

It looked like a vague, wavy out line of two wings and a head as one would see a bird if they looked up while it was flying over them. The wavy lines could have been flames long ago.

"I don't recognize it." He stated.

"Could be from a wiped out village, or a small one no one has heard of." She suggested.

"Most likely wiped out. Kyuubi made it sound like this happened a long time ago. Any records might not have survived the shinobi wars."

If it was one thing Shikamaru liked to do, it was to solve puzzles. This was a big puzzle that was starting to intrigue him. Temari handed him the metal and he pocketed it for further study when they had the time.

All the bones disturbed the kids, but they did their best to cover it by listening to Iruka continue their lessons, reciting them from memory as they walked. He made sure they were paying attention by randomly asking them questions when he thought they weren't paying attention.

With no sky to look at, it was impossible to tell what time it was or how long they had been walking without referring to their watches, for those that happened to have them.

"What time is it?" Temari asked sometime later, fighting off a yawn.

"Oh-two-thirty-nine." Sakura answered with a yawn of her own.

Sakura had been walking between Lee and Sasuke, sharing a companionable silence. Naruto was in the back with Neji and Gaara. Hinata had joined them at some point, silently walking next to Naruto. Shikamaru was annoyed to notice that his carefully set up line had degraded into people walking aimlessly, some talking quietly to others.

Most of the children were sleeping on Gaara's suna sleds now that the path was big enough to allow them. Somehow he and Temari had ended up in the lead with Kiba and Akamaru following them, a slight smirk on the Inuzuka's lips.

It was only then that he noticed that, somehow, Temari had claimed his hand in her own. He blinked in surprised, wondering when she had managed to pull that on him. He tried to think of a way to get his hand free without offending her, but any plan he came up with ended with his head meeting her fan.

In the end, he gave up and just lived with it. It was far too troublesome to do anything about it anyway.

(break)

"I win." Ino smirked to Tenten.

"Damn," Tenten hissed as she passed her last chocolate bar to Ino.

Ino broke it in half and offered half of it back to Tenten.

"It was your plan." She explained to Tenten's surprised look.

"Oi, I carried you." Choji protested.

Both girls broke a small piece off and handed it to him.

"I wonder if he's going to figure out what you did?" Tenten asked.

"Right now he's probably wondering how it happened in the first place, and blaming his analytical mind for distracting him from what was going on around him." Ino brushed the threat away.

"Do you think Temari knows?" Choji asked.

Temari looked back at Ino and winked before turning her attention ahead again.

"She knows." Ino chuckled, Tenten joining her.

"What did you do?" Lee asked curiously.

Behind them Genma and Kankurou were also listening while trying to pretend they didn't want to know and acting cool.

"Ino did it." Tenten answered.

"Did what?" Lee asked.

"Weren't you paying attention during the Chuunin exam. The first one?" Tenten sighed in exasperation.

"You mean…?" Lee caught on.

"_Shintenshin no Jutsu._" Ino smirked. "Never even notice I did it either."

"Isn't that cheating?" Lee asked.

"All is fair in love and war, Lee-kun." Ino winked. "Besides, Shikamaru-kun would find it too troublesome to reach out and take her hand on his own, so I just encouraged him." Ino added.

"Now it will be too troublesome to remove it." Choji added with a smirk of his own.

"Poor bastard doesn't stand a chance when Temari has this many allies on her side." Kankurou muttered. "What am I saying, he didn't stand a chance the moment she set her eyes on him."

"She seems strong willed." Genma admitted. "I was impressed with her abilities during the chuunin exam."

"Strong willed is like calling an enraged bear a docile creature. And she even has Gaara on her side."

"A marriage would benefit both Konoha and Suna." Genma pointed out.

"Yeah, but I still pity Shikamaru for being the target. Temari may be acting like a gentle kitten now since she's on the hunt, but just wait until she has her prey in her claws or until you ruffle her fur the wrong way. Then she turns into a hellcat. Trust me, I've seen it. I usually had to pick up the pieces." Kankurou sighed. "We might as well start digging his grave now."

"Oi, Temari-chan isn't that bad." Naruto countered for her benefit.

"Right. How did Shikamaru end up naked in her bed anyway?" Kankurou asked, looking back at Naruto.

"No clue." Naruto answered with a big grin.

"You're a horrible liar and you know it." Kankurou stated.

"And you called me a bad liar." Neji grunted.

"You are. We weren't talking about me at the time." Naruto pointed out.

"Why would Neji-niisan lie?" Hinata asked.

"No reason." Both boys instantly answered.

She looked at them both, but didn't push the issue.

"A shinobi should be able to lie with a straight face." Genma lectured.

"Great, we get to listen to him lecture us now. It's bad enough Iruka-sensei is putting us all to sleep with his droning, now we have to listen to Genma-san to." Naruto complained.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata gasped.

"He's got a point." Neji agreed.

"Neji-niisan." Hinata sighed.

"Iruka-sensei's voice is putting everyone to sleep." He finished.

Hinata sighed, giving up.

"I heard that." Iruka stated crossly as he stopped his lecture to glare at the two boys.

"Your class is asleep. How can you have all of that memorized?" Tenten asked.

"Well, I have been teaching for years." Iruka answered, a slight blush on his face when he realized they were right.

Sakura chuckled from Sasuke's side, and he glanced down at her. She fell back to join the conversation while Naruto took the opportunity to come up and join him. He also noticed Neji fell back again in a desperate attempt to escape her, but failed as Hinata stopped his retreat and both medic nins started to look him over to make sure he was recovering properly.

"Bet his _byakugan_ couldn't save him from that." Naruto chuckled.

"I don't think my _Sharingan_ could save me from that." Sasuke agreed.

"How far do you think this leads?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. The other way took three days. I am betting this one will take about as long." Sasuke answered.

Naruto yawned and stretched, looking back and noticing many of the others were doing the same, many of them starting to drag their feet.

"Oi, Shikamaru-kun, Temari-chan, let's call it a day." Naruto called up to them.

Both of them looked back to see the state of their troops before agreeing. Gaara let his suna sleds rest on the ground, allowing the children to continue to sleep undisturbed. The rest of them found a comfortable place to rest. Gaara used his suna to cover both sides of the tunnel, offering them safety so they could all rest.

(break)

"How many days has it been?" Tenten asked.

"Four, I think." Temari answered.

The torches were almost gone and the tunnel showed no signs of ending. The bones had slowly drifted off, suggesting those who had taken flight years ago had made it far before their pursuers had caught up. Now they had no way to mark the path and they could only hope they hadn't missed a hidden tunnel somewhere.

Akamaru suddenly started barking from his place at the front with Kiba, causing everyone to jump in surprise at the sudden disturbance.

"Please tell me he's found fresh air?" Sakura asked.

"That sounds more like an alarm. Neji?" Naruto stated.

"Shit." He cursed.

"They caught up to us?" Naruto demanded.

"Hai. They must have bridged the gap or they found an alternate rout." Neji answered.

"Shikamaru-kun, Temari-chan, we need to move." Naruto shouted, sprinting to the lead where Hinata and Henabi were already making their reports.

"This is getting really troublesome." Shikamaru hissed in annoyance.

They picked up the speed, going from a walk to a run, the children up on suna sleds the moment the alarm had sounded. Temari was starting to worry her brother was going to run out of chakra at this rate.

Naruto reported Neji's find before falling back again. Akamaru and Kiba were sprinting in the lead, noses to the air in hoped to pick up scents from ahead of them to indicate rather they were getting closer to the surface, or if they had been cut off.

Thus, it was Kiba's curse that reached their ears first. At first she feared that they had been cut off, but a worse fate was to be reviled when she and Shikamaru cleared the corner and found themselves in the large chamber, with no exit.

"What is this?" Konohamaru asked, awe and fear in his voice.

The room was circular with some sort of summoning circle carved into the ground in front of a platform that housed an arch. The arch was carved in the shape of flowing vines, but the walls were painted with pictures of youkai torturing and dominating humans.

Behind the gate was the chipped image of a large, black phoenix, eyes burning crimson red and beak gapped in a cry. Inside the image of the phoenix was a human wearing black robes with red fire. His eyes matched that of the phoenix and he held a whip curled in one hand with a large sword in the other. He had several children kneeling at his feet, trembling in fear.

"_That's Vouma-sama in his true and human form." Kyuubi stated to Naruto._

"What is this?" Kankurou demanded.

"Kyuubi says its Vouma-sama. We must be in some sort of sacrifice chamber." Naruto answered, turning around to guard the entrance, Neji and Shino standing next to him.

"So now what do we do?" Kiba demanded.

"This looks like a summoning circle. What do you think it summons?" Temari asked Shikamaru.

"Something bad I am sure." Shikamaru answered, ushering the children to the back where they would be easier to defend. "Konohamaru, Henabi, I am leaving the defence of the children to you and the other genin." He stated.

"Hai." They both saluted.

The Genin joined the children in a loss, defensive, half ring, using the wall to cover their backs. Iruka joined them to keep moral up and he wasn't much of a fighter anyway. Gaara laid his suna out along the tunnel and sat back, waiting to kill anyone who would come in.

Naruto, Neji, Temari, Tenten, Sasuke and Hinata stood at the front for the moment, ready to deflect any projectiles that would be thrown their way. If the enemy made it through, Tenten would fall back and Choji, Lee, and Kiba with Akamaru would move up.

Ino, Shikamaru, Tenten, Kankurou, Shino and Gaara would stay at the back; their jutsu's not suitable for closed spaces and preferring to fight from a distance.

Genma joined Naruto and the others up front. Sakura was kind of halfway between. Her physical strength made her deadly in close combat, but her healing abilities might be needed everywhere.

They waited in a tense silence, then a female voice range out from around the corner.

"I know you are there. Let's resolve this without a fight."

"I think not, Kenari-san." Shikamaru called back.

"Judging from the descriptions Katsu-san gave us, you must be Shikamaru. For you to have stopped means you must have hit a dead end. We have no intention of killing any of you. Just surrender and come quietly."

Shikamaru remained silent and weighed the odds. They were trapped with no way out. Kenari could just blockade them in and wait for them to run out of food, water, and light. He didn't know just what forces she had at her disposal, so there was a chance that they were equal, she out numbered them, or they out numbered her.

"What guarantee's do we have you won't just kill us once we surrender?" Temari shouted, giving him thinking time

"If Akatsuki wanted you dead, the village would have been razed to the ground. Temari-san, right?"

"Hai." She admitted. "Some of us have warrants on our heads. What protection could you offer for that?" She challenged.

"I am afraid I can not offer anything in the way of protection unless if the one with the warrant is over eighteen. And I cannot protected the two youkai boys and the three Orochimaru-sama wants." Kenari admitted.

"You're not making a good argument for us to surrender." Temari challenged.

"I do not need to bring you all back alive. Only five of you have been slated to live. I do not enjoy slaying children, but I will if it will complete my mission. You have earned my respect for having eluded me this long. I wish to bring you in alive as a sign of my respect."

"Five of us?" Sakura demanded.

"Naruto and Kazekage-sama are wanted by Akatsuki. Shikamaru, Temari, and Neji are wanted by Orochimaru-sama. I do believe the one named Kiba is wanted by Yashero-san, but that's just a warrant." Kenari answered.

"Nani?" Several of the others gasped in surprise.

"And I already told you they would sooner die then become slaves for Orochimaru." Naruto shouted. "You got mud in your ears or something."

"Naruto-kun." Temari sighed.

"Baka." Shikamaru groaned.

"We WILL free Konoha. We WILL not surrender to you. We WILL not be used as slaves for the petty ambitions of others. I am Uzumaki Naruto, but we are Shinobi of Konoha and Suna. We do not lie down like beating Inu so easily. Take it from the one who is going to be Hokage one day." Naruto shouted, fist facing the entrance.

"And from the Kazekage." Gaara added, though in a calm voice as opposed to a shout.

Temari and Shikamaru grinned. A glance back showed that the genin and children were less scared, a determined look on their face. Even the others looked less apprehensive. If it was one skill Naruto had, it was charisma and the ability to dispel fear. That alone qualified him to be a great leader. One even better then she or Shikamaru could ever be once he learned a little more battle smarts. He most definitely had the potential to become Hokage.

Kenari laughed. "A compelling speech, Naruto-kun. Very well. I guess we must fight. Be ready."

"Bring it." Kiba shouted, Akamaru barking from his side.

"We are ready." Lee added.

Everyone tightened their stances as they waited for the siege to begin.

"_Suiton; Ryuusui no Jutsu._"

"Nani?" Naruto shouted as a suiryuu came barrelling around the corner with such a force that Naruto feared it would drown them all. "Gaara." He shouted.

"Hai." Gaara answered, a wall of suna coming up to defend the children while the others leaped to the ceiling, latching on with chakra fused to their feet.

Gaara and Lee stood on a suna sled. Temari and Shikamaru stood on Temari's fan. Kenari's men came running in behind the Suiryuu.

"Clever." Shikamaru admitted.

The Suiryuu would have destroyed any traps set, washed away the suna Gaara had left on the ground, and had forced them to scatter from the one defensible point they had. Now the enemy was amongst them.

Tenten rained weapons down from the ceiling, it being the best place for her.

"_Gijyuu Nimpou; Shikyaku no Jutsu, Gijyuu Nimpou; Juujin Bunshin, Gatsuuga._" Kiba called out in order before he and Akamaru launched themselves from the ceiling, whirling tornadoes of destruction.

Lee dropped down, whirling in the air as he did so.

"_Konoha Senpuu._" His kicks sent many shinobi flying through the air.

"_Byakugan._" Hinata and Neji shouted together, dropping from the ceiling into the midst of the invaders. "_Kaiten._" They shouted at the same time, both of them spinning in a circle, sending attacker flying in several directions.

Neji made a far bigger circle then Hinata did, but Temari was impressed with how far Hinata had come over the years.

"_Sharingan._" Sasuke shouted before dropping from the ceiling and joining Lee in the offensive.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."_ Naruto shouted.

He and the many clones he created fell from the ceiling to join the fight.

Ino dropped down next to Gaara, taking Lee's place on the Suna sled. She formed several seals, then shouted, "_Shinranshin no Jutsu._"

Shikamaru followed her line of attack and notice one of the invaders was now attacking his friends, a look of horror on the poor man's face.

"_Baika no Jutsu._" Choji shouted, growing double in height as he also dropped from the ceiling. "_Nikudan Sensha._" He started spinning before he even hit the ground, rolling around and causing many shinobi to scatter, right into Kiba and Akamaru's _Gatsuuga_.

He and Temari jumped down from her fan. She joined Tenten on the roof, countering weapons and covering Tenten so she could concentrate on her targets. He fell to the ground, jumping back and shouting warnings and orders to the others so they wouldn't accidentally hit each other in the small space.

Gaara remained on his suna sled, arms crossed in apparent boredom as his suna reassembled itself from being washed aside by the suiryuu. He used it to trip up opponents (making it easier for the others to hit), holding opponents in place (making them very easy targets), or blocking attacks when he could. No doubt it took every once of his control and attention to cover so many.

Sakura fought with her fist, sending her targets flying with broken bones. Her strength was definitely a thing to be reckoned with, she was becoming a very, scary woman. She was conserving chakra for healing

With the closed space, there was no room for big jutsu's. Hinata and Neji both switched to the Jyuuken and taijutsu quickly became the order of the fight. The genin and children were more of less left alone since they were not seen as a threat with the odd kunai or shiruken flying their direction that the genin were able to deflect when Iruka was too slow or distracted to get it. The children were scared, but wisely didn't move or try to help.

Kenari still hadn't made an appearance. In fact, he was shocked to notice there were two sets of emblems on the field. The first clearly belonged to the scouts that had been on their trail judging by the lack of overall fighting ability. The other seemed to belong to a group of warriors.

"_Shit, we are in trouble_." Shikamaru cursed.

Their initial strike had done some damage, but the enemy was a fast learner. Naruto's clones had been dealt with and he didn't bother to create more. There wasn't enough space for them.

Hinata and Sakura had been forced to stop fighting and to heal what damage they could. So far the enemy hadn't penetrated further then halfway in. Tenten and Temari had walked backwards along the wall to keep slightly behind the front lines. Kiba and Akamaru ran on either side of Choji, hitting those that dodged out of his way as they barrelled into the enemy lines before barrelling out down the same path.

Ino remained next to Gaara, throwing kunai and shirukens when she wasn't using her Jutsu's. Gaara continued to trip up foes, avoiding using his _Sabaku Sousou_ so as not to terrify the children and to prevent everyone from getting coated in blood. His suna was scattered across the cavern in large clumps that prevented him from using it anyway and he didn't dare threaten the integrity of the mountain by making more. He was able to break a few feet and hands though.

"We are out numbered." Shikamaru hissed to himself once he was done analysing the situation.

Genma was helping where he could, but he had been tied up fighting some scared up, large man who appeared to be the leader of the warriors. Shikamaru was glad the older Jounin was with them. This man looked like he would have worked Gaara over in no time and it was taking all of Genma's concentration to deal with him.

The man seemed more annoyed at Genma's interference then threatened. In fact, the man kept shifting his targeted area as if at random. It took several second of observation before he noticed a pattern. The man's eyes never left Kiba.

"Yashero-sama." Shikamaru dared to yell out.

Sure enough, the man glanced over to look at him when he heard the name called. So he was the one Kenari had mentioned had a warrant out for the Inuzuka clan. He appeared to be strong, still able to fend of Genma's attacks while distracted.

"You're lucky Orochimaru-sama wants you alive rat." Yashero grunted, absently parrying Genma's kunai with his own before lashing out with a punch that sent the older Jounin flying until Gaara caught him with his suna.

Now free, Yashero went for Kiba. Shikamaru was too far away and there was too much interference for him to use his _Kagemane no Jutsu_.

"Shit." He cursed as he drew his own Kunai and shiruken, firing them at the mercenary.

Yashero easily deflected the attack with his kunai, not slowing a bit.

"Temari." He shouted.

Temari looked down at him and he pointed to Yashero. She whipped her fan around, targeting the man in an effort to stop him, or at least slow him down.

"Kiba-kun." Temari shouted.

(break)

Naruto turned at the sound of Temari's shout, watching in shock as Yashero burst through Temari's winds as if it was a gentle breeze, continuing his dash towards a spinning Kiba.

"Shit." Naruto cursed, running his finger over one of his cuts and started to rush thrugh the hand seals. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_." Naruto shouted.

(break)

"What!" Kiba exclaimed as he came out of his _Gatsuuga_, tangled up in strings of chakra coming from Yashero's hands, to stare up at the man in shock as the mans fist made for his face. A puff of smoke appeared between them and the sound of metal striking metal rang through the air.

When the smoke cleared, a red and purple frog as tall as he was stood between him and Yashero, blocking the attack with its arm guard. Shikamaru and Temari sighed in relief. And Kiba quickly regained his composure, fighting against the strings to no avail.

"Bastard." Naruto shouted, barrelling into Yashero with his fist.

"Akamaru?" Kiba called, looking for his partner.

Akamaru was on the other side of the room, still spinning and tangled up helping Choji and Shino fight another group of shinobi.

"Damn it." Kiba cursed.

"Hinata-chan." Naruto called, Neji too far away and distracted to help.

"Hai." She appeared next to Kiba, cutting the strings with her chakra while Naruto defended them.

"Good work Hinata." Kiba complimented as he was finally set free to turn a glare on the man who had tangled him up.

Beside them Naruto and Yashero were still fighting.

"Huh, you are an annoyance kid. I would kill you if Akatsuki didn't want you alive." Yashero snarled.

"Lucky for me." Naruto answered.

"You, Hinata I believe he called you. You are the Hyuuga Heir, are you not?" Yashero asked, looking past Naruto to Hinata and Kiba.

"Hai." She answered firmly, standing up next to a now free Kiba.

Both of them fell into a defensive stance, but both knew this man was far stronger then they and that they stood no chance of beating him.

"I think I want you both." Yashero grinned.

"I wont let you harm a hair on Hinata-chan's head." Naruto swore as he lunged at Yashero.

"Get out of my way brat." Yashero grunted in annoyance, his first colliding with Naruto's face and sending him flying to land next to Shikamaru.

Blood flowed from Naruto's face and splashed on to the floor, some of it landing in the seal.

(break)

"Naruto! Are you al…" Shikamaru stopped his question.

Where Naruto's blood had landed on the summoning circle, it was glowing.

"_Nani_?" He thought shocked

"Ah." Hinata's cry reached his ears, but he ignored it.

Naruto cursed, wiping blood off of his face and tossing it aside before shouting Hinata's name and rushing carelessly back into the fray. Where the blood landed on the seal, it started to glow.

Shikamaru grabbed a kunai, cut his finger, and let his blood drip on the seal. It glowed where his blood landed. He looked back at the gate and noticed some of the carved leaves were starting to glow.

"_This circle must activate that gate. It must be a portal to somewhere._" He figured.

A glance at his companions showed how dire their situation was. They were slowly falling back. Further observation caused him to note that it was only the blood of the Konoha shinobi that was causing the circle to activate.

He glanced around, noticing that both sides seem to have created a space between them and there was a lull in the fight.

"Gaara, wall us off." He shouted, walking around the summoning circle and letting his blood flow on it.

Gaara created a wall between both side, but he knew it wouldn't last long.

"Everyone, draw your blood and let it fall on the seal." He ordered.

"Nani." Several people demanded.

"Do it." He shouted. "We don't have much time."

Everyone but Gaara, since his suna prevented him from hurting himself, drew their blood and let it fall on the seal. Kankurou's and Temari's had no effect, as did a few of the others, but most of them were able to get the circle glowing.

The more the circle glowed, the more the arch did until it exploded in vivid color before settling down to show a cave with different colored rock then this one did.

"Everyone, through the portal." He commanded.

Iruka went through first least there be something unpleasant on the other side. Half the genin followed, than the children, then the other half of the genin.

"We don't know where that leads?" Sakura protested.

"Anywhere is better then here." Kankurou stated as he ran through.

Everyone ran through until just Sakura, Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke remained.

"If they didn't know you were a traitor before, they know now." Naruto stated to Sasuke.

"I care not. I have no further use for Orochimaru." Sasuke stated as he went through the portal next.

The suna wall collapsed.

"The same technique." Gaara stated as they waited for his suna to return to the gourd even as the enemy rushed them.

"Let's go." Naruto stated as he picked up a now exhausted Gaara, having used most of his chakra up.

The three of them ran through the portal together, continuing past Temari and Tenten, who stood ready to deal with pursuers.

The moment Naruto's foot left the platform on the other side, the gate closed.

"I think Konoha blood is needed to activate the gate, but let's keep moving anyhow." Shikamaru ordered.

"I can smell fresh air. We are near the surface." Kiba reported.

"Lead the way." Temari ordered.

"Hai. Let's go Akamaru."

Akamaru barked in agreement and the two of them took the lead.

Naruto let go of Gaara, letting him walk on his own. The children were also forced to walk, as Gaara had no chakra left to use his suna. No one had any stamina, other then Naruto, to run, so they set for a slow jog.

The night sky greeted them, but the terrain was completely different from anything they had seen before. It was much like a coastal rainforest. They continued their jog until they managed to find a cave at the base of a large tree.

The children crawled into the back and fell asleep, completely exhausted. The genin joined them, as well as most of the chuunin and even a few of the Jounin. Sakura and Hinata treated everyone who had a bad cut, injury, or poisoned.

Out of everyone, Genma got out the worst. Yashero had worked him over good. The children's wounds were disabling ones rather then killing ones, most likely because the enemy was not sure who was who and were being safe rather then sorry.

She did a quick analysis of everyone's wounds. Genma was in really bad shape. Several of the others had been hit in key locations that had adverse effects on their performance, and a few looked like they were fighting off some sort of poison.

"Hinata, give antidotes to everyone. Move Choji here next to Genma-san. I will look at them both after reporting to Shikamaru. Get some rest after that, but if you can't sleep, feel free to work on the medical journal."

"Hai, Sakura-chan." Hinata answered, taking a bottle of pills used to counter basic poisons and handing everyone one.

Sakura noticed Hinata seemed to be favouring her right shoulder but put the information aside for now. She trusted Hinata could heal herself and it didn't appear to be on the top of the priority list.

"Rest. Do not move. I will be back to do what I can in a moment." Sakura sternly ordered Genma.

"Hai." He coughed out weakly.

She walked over to Shikamaru and Temari. Both were standing guard at the entrance with Tenten and Ino, having taken the least damage and having the most Chakra left.

"Shikamaru, Temari." She called softly.

Both of them turned to look at her.

"Genma-san in not in good condition neither is Choji. He seems to be the one they were certain didn't have a warrant. Several others took needles in key spots to disable them, but I managed to remove most of them. We are going to need a place to rest for a few days." She reported.

"How bad is Genma-san?" Shikamaru asked.

"He's got multiple lacerations, cracked ribs, big bruises, and took several lacerations on key muscle points, making his right arm all but useless and forcing him to walk with a bad limp. Most likely he's also got pulled muscles, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight concussion. Who was he fighting anyway?"

"I think it was Yashero, leader of the warrior group on our tail. He wasn't even paying attention to the fight. He's the one with a warrant out for the Inuzuka family." Shikamaru answered.

"So that's why he went after Kiba. You four had the best vantage points. Did anyone take any injuries you saw that I should know about?"

"Ile." Everyone answered.

"Good. Shikamaru, we do need a good, solid place to rest for a few days."

"From what I saw, only Konoha blood activated that gate, and then it wasn't even all of us. If I were to guess, they would need Konoha blood to reactivate it. Kenari-san seemed smart enough to figure it out. We may have seven days. It will take them time to get to Konoha and gather blood from the others to activate it." Shikamaru started figuring aloud.

"I'll send out Naruto and Akamaru to try and find us a better location to rest." Temari promised. "Until then, can we trust you to get everyone at least moving?"

"Of course."

Sakura returned to Genma's side, noting he was asleep. His face was pale, his breathing slightly laboured and the needle he always had in his mouth was laying beside him.

She quickly formed several seals, calling Hinata over. Hinata didn't respond. Once her seals were done, she caste a glance around and noticed Hinata was sleeping deeply, one hand resting on her chest as if in pain.

A quick glance around showed Neji helping Lee rest against the wall. Lee had been forced to use his secondary lotus, and that always left him weak. Neji wasn't near as adapt at diagnostics as Hinata, but he was all she had right now.

"Neji." She called.

He looked up at her, his expression one of a mouse caught by a cat.

"I need your help." She stated.

His body relaxed. Clearly he had feared another check up. He settled Lee down, then joined her. While he did that, she ran through Genma's system, finding multiple poisons from sleeping to paralysis, but none lethal. She concentrated and removed most of the paralysis one.

"First, look at Hinata for me." She asked when Neji joined her and she finished removing most of the poison.

"Hai." He activated his byakugan and looked at his cousin.

Genma's breathing picked up a bit now his organs weren't fighting the paralysis and he looked less pale.

"She had bruised ribs, multiple, light lacerations, and a few bruises, mostly on her shoulder, but is otherwise fine." Neji reported.

"Good. I hate to use you as an x-ray machine, but Hinata is in not condition to help me right now." She apologized after his report.

"What of Henabi-sama?" He asked.

"She is not experienced enough, and is sleeping. I don't want to wake anyone up. Consider this payment for wasting all my chakra getting you back on your feet."

"Hump." He chuckled.

He turned his attention to Genma, reporting what he saw. Sakura listened, running through Genma's system at the same time with her chakra. It wasn't nearly as smooth as when she worked with Hinata since Neji wasn't always certain what it was he saw and they spent a lot of time trying to decipher each other. They may have been speaking the same language, but the words were different. Neji had used a lot of chakra during the fight and eventually had to stop to rest. She dismissed him and continued to work alone.

The deep gashes she carefully stitched up. She did have to ask for help, giving to her by Iruka and Naruto, to get his vest and shirt off so she could bind his ribs. She did what she could with what little strength she had left before collapsing in exhaustion.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews, now to answer a few questions.  
Yes the boys will find out about the relationship.  
I prefer to spell it Inoshi, though I have seen other spellings, this one looks the easiest to type and read. Pronounced the same though.  
GaMeBrEaKeR: that's alright. That's why I put warnings up.  
A reader; thanks for the spelling corrections.

Next chapter; Watching through the mirror. I think there is even a scene from Inoshi's point of view.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

Chapter 13

Mirror of Viewing

Kurenai was hard pressed to think of another time where she had such strong, conflicting emotions. She was sure she wasn't the only one. She kneeled on a mat in front of the stand holding a large mirror in the basement of the hotel.

Inoshi was kneeling on a mat beside her with Alara resting against him. In the mirrors reflection she could see Akimichi and Shikaku kneeling next to Gai, Kakashi, and Asuma. Geki and another guard she didn't recognize were leaning against the wall behind them.

Katsu was doing seals and was painting the blood they had gathered, Inoshi's first she noted, onto the mirror in various seals. When he finished he kneeled next to her, finished a last set of seals, than whispered a string of words she didn't catch.

The blood on the mirror was absorbed and the mirror turned black. For several seconds nothing happened, than Ino came onto the screen. Katsu preformed several seals and the image zoomed out until they could see they cave they were in and the fight that was going on.

"Looks like Kenari-san caught up." Alara noted with a hint of excitment in her voice.

"And that Yashero-san has managed to join her." Katsu commented, noticing the man fighting another adult.

To her horror, and to the horror of the others, sound was clearly transmitted. Right now the only noise was that of battle with several shouts, of which only a few were legible. The one that stood out the most was Shikamaru's shout to Kiba.

They watched as Yashero finally dealt with the man, whom she was both glad and horrified to notice was Genma, and made his way towards Kiba, busting through Temari's windblast as if it was nothing.

Kurenai felt her heart jump into her throat as Yashero tangled Kiba up with chakra strings and made his way towards him. She felt a wave of relief hit her as a frog appeared before him, blocking Yashero's attack.

Hinata made an appearance and cut Kiba free while Naruto defended them. Yashero's fist sent the boy flying eventually, leaving Hinata and Kiba to fight him alone. Kurenai held back her silent cry as Yashero managed to lay a punch to Hinata's chest, sending the girl rolling along the floor.

Naruto's shout came loud and clear and the blond haired boy rejoined the fight while Kiba checked on Hinata, who was now sitting up and coughing.

"What is that?" Alara asked, pointing to the glowing half-circle on the ground that was just in view as Ino and Gaara backed up a bit.

"I don't know." Katsu admitted.

A lull hit the fighting as both sides jumped away from each other to take a breather. The din died down as both sides glared at each other.

"A summoning circle?" Katsu dared to question as the markings in the ground continued to glow where blood touched it.

"Maybe." Alara agreed.

"Geki, draw that out." Katsu snapped.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." Geki saluted, quickly drawing out the now visible circle on the ground.

A wall of suna divided the room in half.

"Clever, but it won't hold for long." Alara admitted.

"The arch is glowing." Katsu stated.

"_Everyone, draw your blood and let it fall on the seal." Shikamaru's shout came loud and clear._

"What is he thinking?" Alara asked curiously.

The others looked at Shikamaru in surprise, but did do as he commanded. The seal glowed, the arch exploded in light.

"A portal?" Katsu demanded.

"It would appear so." Alara commented. "The question is; where does it lead? Do you notice the symbols on the wall?"

"Hai. Youkai subduing humans. Where are they?" Katsu wondered aloud.

They watched in shock as everyone ran through the gate. Since the screen was set on Ino, it followed her. The screen went blank when she entered. Everyone waited in baited silence, than the mirror lit up again, showing Ino stumbling through the other side and past Temari and Tenten.

"The rock is different." Katsu stated.

"So it is." Alara agreed.

Katsu moved the screen out and they watched the others come through the gate. The gate shut down when Naruto and Gaara stepped down from the platform.

"_I think Konoha blood is needed to activate the gate, but let's keep moving." Shikamaru's voice came from off screen._

"_I can smell fresh air. We are near the surface." Said another that Kurenai recognized as Kiba._

"_Lead the way." Temari ordered._

"_Hai. Let's go Akamaru." Came Kiba's voice again._

The mirror followed the children out of the cave and into a forest no one recognized.

"It's night there." Alara frowned.

"Interesting." Katsu commented. "Another plane of existence maybe?"

"Ile. Another part of the world maybe?"

Now they were out of danger, most of them were limping. Iruka helped to steady Genma, who was barely walking after fighting Yashero. Since the screen was set on Ino, and Ino was in the lead, they were only able to see the front half of the formation.

Eventually they came to cave under some tree roots and settled down. Katsu moved the screen around and they noticed everyone was in various states of passing out or helping the injured.

Eventually he let the mirror reset to hover over Ino's shoulder and back a bit.

"_Shikamaru, Temari." Came Sakura's voice from off screen._

_Since Ino turned to face her, they were able to see an exhausted Sakura._

"_Genma-san is not in good condition neither is Choji. He seems to be the one they were certain didn't have a warrant. Several others took needles in key spots to disable them, but I managed to remove most of them. We are going to need a place to rest for a few days." She reported._

"_How bad is Genma-san?" Shikamaru asked._

"_He's got multiple lacerations, cracked ribs, big bruises, and took several lacerations on key muscle points, making his right arm all but useless and forcing him to walk with a bad limp. Most likely he's also got pulled muscles, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight concussion. Who was he fighting anyway?"_

"_I think it was Yashero, leader of the warrior group on our tail. He wasn't even paying attention to the fight. He's the one with a warrant out for the Inuzuka family." Shikamaru answered._

"Smart kid to have figured so much out already." Alara chuckled.

"Kenari-san must have let something slip at some point." Katsu waved away.

"_So that's why he went after Kiba. You four had the best vantage points. Did anyone take any injuries you saw that I should know about?"_

"_Ile." Everyone answered._

"_Good. Shikamaru, we do need a good, solid place to rest for a few days."_

"_From what I saw, only Konoha blood activated that gate, and then it wasn't even all of us. If I were to guess, they would need Konoha blood to reactivate it. Kenari-san seemed smart enough to figure it out. We may have seven days. It will take them time to get to Konoha and gather blood from the others to activate it." Shikamaru started figuring aloud, then died down to a mumble they couldn't hear._

"_I'll send out Naruto-kun and Akamaru to try and find us a better location to rest." Temari promised. "Until then, can we trust you to get everyone at least moving?"_

"_Of course." Sakura answered before leaving sight of the mirror._

_There was silence for many moments, than Shikamaru spoke again._

"_I hate to say this, but…"_

"_I know. We are the only ones left with a resemblance of Chakra." Ino interrupted. "Don't worry, Shikamaru-kun, you can count on me." She smiled._

"_And me." Tenten added._

_He smiled at both of them._

"_Sakura is going to need more water soon. Tenten, come with?" Ino asked._

"_Sure."_

"_Be careful. Kenari-san…"_

"_May not be on our tail, but we are in an unknown land with unknown dangers. You worry too much Shikamaru-kun." Ino interrupted._

"_You don't worry enough." He countered._

_She grinned at him and both girls left the safety of the cave, moving quietly and quickly._

"_Shikamaru has a point Ino." Tenten stated._

"_I know, but it's fun to rile him up."_

_Ino frowned._

"_What is it?" Tenten asked._

"_He's not sleeping. Hasn't been since Naruto-kun knocked him out a week ago. He always gets like this when he's under stress."_

"_We can ask Naruto to knock him out again, or get Sakura to give him something to sleep." Tenten suggested._

"_Hai."_

"_Oi, that was pretty brave of you standing next to Kazekage-sama during the battle. I still wouldn't trust his suna after the chuunin exam."_

"_It was the best location for my Jutsu's. Besides, Temari-san had her hands full defending you. Think about it. Gaara-sama's suna automatically defends him. What safer place then behind him? Usually Choji-kun or Shikamaru-kun guard me when I use my Jutsu's, but that wasn't possible in the situation." Ino answered._

"_What were you doing anyway? I couldn't quite catch it during all the commotion."_

"_Just a family trick." She waved away._

"_It wasn't the Shintenshin."_

"_Ile. The shintenshin no jutsu would have been suicide in that mess. You saw the side effects to that when I took on Kin during the second exam of our first chunnin exam."_

"_True. I would have been bad if one of us accidentally attacked you."_

"_And I would have left my body completely open. The shintenshin is best used for infiltration, not combat. My target needs to be still to guarantee success."_

"_Hence Shikamaru's Kagemane no jutsu." Tenten clued in._

"_Right. You catch on fast Tenten."_

"_So what were you doing?" Tenten asked curiously._

"_The Shinranshin." Ino grinned, the frowned. "Actually, that's the first time I got it to work. Father's been trying to teach it to me for months, and I could never get it. I wish he could have seen me do it for the first time, but, oh well. He'll just be surprised when we get back."_

_Tenten giggled with her._

"_Do you hear that?" Ino asked._

"_Hai, water."_

_Silence was between the two girls for several minutes until they came to a lake._

"_Oh kami." Ino suddenly cursed._

"_What is it?" Tenten asked._

"_Look." Ino pointed to the sky._

_Tenten looked for several seconds before joining in the curse._

"_It's so low on the horizon." Ino gapped._

_Tenten pulled out a compass and gapped._

"_Ino, we must be hundreds of miles to the north for that constellation to be so low on the horizon."_

"_How far?"_

"_Way past Oto in the least."_

"_We can still get to Suna though, right?" Ino asked, a hint of panic in her voice._

"_Ino, what time does your watch say?"_

"_Thirteen twenty eight." She answered, then blinked and looked again. "We never noticed the time was off because we have been in that damn cave for four days. Ino, we are at least eight hours behind in time."_

"_But for that to be, we would have to be…"_

"_On the other side of the eastern ocean." Tenten finished when Ino couldn't._

"_How are we going to get to Suna now?" She asked, collapsing onto the ground._

_Tenten joined her._

"_I don't know. We had better let Shikamaru know about this. If that portal got us here, it might get us back." Tenten suggested_

"_Yeah, but you can bet its guarded by now."_

"_Maybe we can find a ship to take us back." Tenten added hopefully._

"_Maybe. Let's just get the water for now and head back. We can't do anything until everyone recovered anyway." Ino frowned, gathering water from the lake._

"_Maybe we should wait to tell Shikamaru about this. It will just cause him more stress." Tenten suggested as they headed back._

"_Ile. He probably noticed the moment we left the cave. He's smart that way. And if he didn't I can guarantee it Temari-san did."_

The girls returned to camp in silence as the screen started to flicker, then die.

"That was your limit, I take it?" Alara asked.

"Hai." Katsu answered.

"At least we know what Kenari-san and Yashero-san will need. We should be able to send out someone to meet them and cut some time off."

"Hai." Katsu admitted, though he seemed deep in thought.

"You think that gate led to the other continent?" Alara asked.

"It would seem so, judging by the landscape and time change."

"Should we report this to Akatsuki?"

Katsu was silent for several seconds before answering

Kurenai was sure everyone could here the panicked beating of her heart, and she was sure she could hear everyone else's.

"Ile. I don't want them knowing about this technique. For now we shall just observe. I am curious to see how long they can continue to evade Kenari-san. They are intriguing." Katsu answered

Kurenai breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded like the others had to.

"You must be proud of your daughter, Inoshi? To have pulled off a technique she had yet to master in that situation." Katsu stated.

"Hai." He admitted, a hint of pride in his voice.

Alara chuckled, running her fingers through his hair.

"I am glad I chose one so suited to infiltration as a pet." Alara purred.

"What did you think of their abilities?" Katsu asked.

Alara almost pouted at the interruption, but did turn her attention away from molesting Inoshi back to Katsu. Once again Kurenai was shocked at the woman's amazing intuition and was reminded just why infiltration and information gathering was her specialty.

"Kazekage-sama was holding back, as was the Kyuubi vessel and the pink haired chick. Sasuke-sama was also holding back, though perhaps wisely as there was not much room for his jutsu's and he may be trying to make the others think he is in the process of infiltrating that group. No doubt Kabuto-san will back that belief when it comes into question.

"The two Hyuuga's and that green suited boy were the most dangerous, followed by the Inuzuka boy. Taijutsu was clearly their specialty and their combat styles were best suited for that kind of fight. Choji was also effective in scattering the targets for Kiba's attack, leaving them off balance to face the full blunt of the _Gatsuuga._

"Tenten and Temari were well situated from their vantage on the ceiling and worked well together. Ino was right when she stated her moves were best left for infiltration and being behind Kazekage-sama was the perfect place for her.

"Shikamaru's is best suited for ambush, but still managed to make the best with what he had and his commands were all the right ones. He is a strong strategist as we expected. That older Jounin with them was able to survive an encounter with Yashero-san and seemed distracted trying to protect the others. He would have fared better if he had not been worried about the children.

"Kankurou and his puppets were also not suited to the terrain, but between him and who I am assuming is Abrume Shino, they were able to work well. Since the window was on Ino, we couldn't see the children or the other adult with them. But they seemed to be smart enough to stay out of the way and Kenari and Yashero seemed to ignore them, making me believe they are no threat. Your analysis?"

"About the same as yours. I am certain about one thing though."

"Oh?" Alara looked at Katsu intrigued.

"The brain of that group is Shikamaru and Temari, but the heart of that group is Naruto."

"Oh? How do you figure that?" Alara asked.

Kurenai was also curious as to how Katsu had come to that conclusion, as were the others.

"Not once did he stop shouting encouragement to the others. He defended them with his life and even dared to shout orders of his own, which the others heeded without a moments hesitation. In fact, Naruto gave more orders then Shikamaru did. They were smaller ones and less noticeable, but there." Katsu answered.

"Humph. So I wasn't imagining it. He might just become a strong leader himself one day once he learns patience. Assuming Akatsuki doesn't claim him first." She agreed.

"Indeed. It is late. I must return to the hospital. Clearly they plan to rest for several days and it will take time for Kenari-san and Yashero-san to return. Let us try this again in two or three days. Agreed, Alara-san?" Katsu asked.

"Hai." She agreed. "You will know where to find me."

Alara stood up, Inoshi following her. She left, Akimichi, Shikaku, and their other guard following her. Katsu seemed to be thinking, and she left him to it, desperately thinking about how to get a message to Shikamaru about this.

The group was in dire danger if Katsu could listen in on their conversations like this. Eventually, Katsu dismissed them. Geki escorted Gai, Asuma and Kakashi back across the lawn to the house.

She went upstairs to join the children, still lost in thought and worried about Genma. Sakura's report made it clear he was badly hurt and they were a long way away from any medical supplies. Kami, they were on another continent.

The portal also had her worried. Why had only Konoha blood worked and what was with the images on the wall? They were in unknown territory with unknown dangers and no safe place anywhere.

She hadn't been this worried about them since the invasion and her fear they hadn't made it out. What was worse was that all she could do was watch helpless through a mirror.

(break)

He was proud of her, more proud then he had ever expected to be. He had been slightly disappointed when his first and only child was a girl, but he had gotten over it quickly.

She was full of life, strong willed, smart, and never gave up once she set her mind to something. She managed to use an un-mastered move in dire circumstances. That move had taken him years to perfect, and she had managed to pull it off.

He knew when he started teaching her it that it would take time to master. It took him two years; the first year and half spent just trying to activate it. It took her ten months. Being a father was tough, but he didn't regret it.

He knew the others would have been proud of their children had they seen the fight. He vowed to find someway to let the others know. Maybe Shizune could help get the word out to the others.

They walked down the street, how he wasn't sure since Alara was all but hanging off of him making him wonder how they were even moving. He could feel Shikaku's eyes burning into their backs and knew his life long friend was holding off murdering Alara by sheer force of will alone.

"_Hai, Kurenai. I know what you meant when you said you didn't want Asuma and Gai to know. If Akimichi knew what was really going on here, things would have exploded by now."_

As far as Akimichi knew, he was making it an effort to seduce Alara for the sake of their wives and friends. Shikaku knew the truth. Like his son, he was sharp and far too intelligent for his own good. How his friend ended up with a freak of woman was still a mystery. He was glad he had managed to get hooked up the young woman who had ran the local flower shop with her mother, which they now owned and operated together.

"Return home." Alara ordered.

"Hai, Alara-sama." Their guard answered, absently herding Akimichi and Shikaku back to Akimichi's house where they were imprisoned.

He shared a glance with Shikaku before they were separated. His friend gave him a look of pity before following their guard away. Akimichi's wife was living with Shikaku's and helping out with the deer. They all agreed it was safest for her there.

He let Alara lead him where she may, not paying attention where she was leading him to until they stopped. He blinked, having been more worried about his daughter and the others then where Alara was leading him to torture him this time. He glanced down to look at her in surprise.

"I trust your wife will want to know your daughter is safe." Alara grinned up at him.

"What do you want?" He questioned.

Alara chuckled.

"We will discus that later. Go on. I will give you ten minutes." She grinned, letting go of him and stepping back.

He turned back to the flower shop he owned with his wife before daring to step in. The moment the door opened her eyes were on him. The moment the door was closed she was on him, arms wrapped tightly around him and trying to hold back tears of joy and relief that he was all right. He returned the embrace.

"The others?" She asked.

"They are fine. I only have ten minutes. How free are you to move?" He asked.

"Very. Us civilians are permitted to go about our daily business. Why?" She asked.

He quickly filed her in. She cried in relief when she found out the children were safe and promised to pass the message on to as many others as she could. They spent the rest of their time together just enjoying each other's embrace before the sound of the bell indicating the opening and closing of the door forced them apart.

"Can I help you?" His wife asked.

"Ile. Times up." Alara stated.

"Hai, Alara-sama."

His wife turned her attention back to him.

"I have to go." He apologized.

"Hai, I understand. I will let Shikamaru-kun and Choji-kun's mothers know they are safe." She promised.

He stepped away from her and allowed Alara to lead him away from the shop. To her credit, she didn't latch onto him until after they were far out of sight. Still, he had no doubt his wife already knew about Alara's use of him. Females seemed to be able to gather information faster then the highest-level ANBU member when it came to gossip. His wife was in the center of that gossip, which explained where Ino had picked up the habit and network.

"What do you want?" He finally asked again after Alara had led him to a small, secluded garden in one of the many parks.

"Manners." She chilled.

"What do you want, Alara-sama?" He corrected.

"Better. You know, in my village, when a woman saw something she wanted, she would kill all those that got in her way to claim it." She stated, actually getting up and walking away from him.

He looked at her back in a stunned silence before she broke it by continuing.

"Marriage isn't even a factor. If a woman saw something she wanted, she would take it and mark it as hers, killing or subduing all those that got in her way."

He did not like where this conversation was going.

"What do you want, Alara-sama?" He tried again.

"Your friend, Shikaku I believe his name is. If he looks at me with those eyes again, I will be forced to do something about it. Normally I would just kill his entire family while making him watch before ending his life painfully, but Akatsuki doesn't want needless bloodshed.

"Instead, maybe I'll tie him to a post and let him watch while some of Yashero's men have their way with his wife. I like that one. I'll have to remember it. In fact, tell him about it for me."

He suppressed the burning rage and need to kill this woman by the barest thread, knowing he stood no chance without his chakra and all that he would just be doing was getting the others in trouble.

"In fact, maybe I'll do it to anyone who looks at me with such hatred. It is annoying."

He felt fear strike his chest and her implied threat to his own wife.

She turned to face him, an innocent smile on her face, but eyes burning with power.

"It was not easy making sure I was put in charge of your group, nor was it easy hunting you down."

"Hunting me down?"

"Hai. As you know, my whole power base is my group's ability to infiltrate and gather information. When I started my investigation of this village's defences for Akatsuki six months ago, I noticed your abilities and how well they fit my needs when I started gathering information on Shikamaru and his team.

"Your daughter is impressive, but _I_ can do little with her. Perhaps if Kenari-san manages to bring them in, I might be able to procure her. Matching her with Jarka-kun would work well I think."

Jarka was one of Alara's younger shinobi, whom was also highly skilled in infiltration and data retrieval. He did not like where this was going at all.

"Your families line of jutsu's would be a worthy asset to my clan." She continued.

"You want me to fight for you?"

"Hardly. I wouldn't trust you." She waved his comment aside. "What I need from you is your line." She corrected. "And, of course, proper training. The best way to acquire a blood line feat is to simply breed into it."

He felt fear hit him.

"Leave …"

"Your daughter out of this." She finished for him. "She is currently beyond my reach. It is not her I am currently interested in." She walked back up to him, eyes staring at him hungrily. "It's you." She grinned.

He held back his snarl of anger.

"If this was my village, your wife would already be dead, as would your daughter if I felt I had no use for her." She stated bluntly. "But since this isn't, I have stayed my hand. Do not think for a moment that I fear Akatsuki's reprisal, as they really wouldn't care about what happened to one, little woman who ran a flower shop. I just don't like stirring the pot and drawing unnecessary attention to myself. But know this, I have no fear of taking her out if I need to in order to get what I want." She snarled at him, than caught his mouth in a bruising kiss before pulling back.

"What do you want from me?" He demanded again, half in fear, half in anger.

"You surly are not that dense. I desire your line, your jutsu's. Figure it out yourself." She grinned, than sighed. "You are dismissed. Return to the house. Oh, and give my message to that friends of yours. In fact, tell him the whole thing. If you are too dense to figure it out, I am sure he can spell it out for you."

Alara walked away from him, heading kami knew where.

"Oh, and please be ready for me tonight." She threw back at him.

He didn't need Shikaku to spell it out for him. He knew exactly what Alara wanted from him. He hadn't thought of it before, but suddenly he felt a twinge of fear for Kurenai and Anko as well. What if their respected owners wanted the same from them?

He walked back to the house, noticing Akimichi was into the food again and Shikaku was waiting for him by the door.

"You still seem to have all your clothes on and in one piece." He commented.

"Alara has a message for you. You aren't going to like it."

"What is it?" Shikaku asked disinterested.

"Stop looking at her in hatred or she'll make you watch Yashero's men have their way with your wife." He answered after taking a minute to gather his thoughts.

"Hump. I would like to see them try. She would have them in pieces in seconds." He grinned.

"The threat goes for the rest of us as well."

Shikaku looked shocked, then angered.

"What does she want now? To bed the rest of us?"

"Ile. She just wants me, and my abilities." He corrected.

"Your abilities? She wants your line." Shikaku guessed correctly.

"Hai."

"I see. What can we do about it?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He admitted in defeat, leaning against the opposite wall.

"True. Gomen, Inoshi. There must be something we can do."

"Not when our wives lives are in danger."

"Hai. You're right." He agreed defeated.

They joined Akimichi and discussed what they had managed to observe through the mirror to pass onto Shizune to pass onto others. Alara returned at sun down, glancing his way before heading up the stairs.

The sound of things being moved around reached their ears and their other guard hauled something upstairs that no one wanted to get a closer look at.

"What is she doing this time?" Akimichi groaned. "It is going to take forever to get my room set up right again."

"You don't want to see how much she changed." Inoshi shuddered.

The pleasant bedroom had been turned into a torture chamber designed for Alara's pleasure. Sometime later, the other guard came down and informed them it was past lights out.

Inoshi shared a look with Shikaku before heading up the stairs for another night of torture. The thing that had been dragged up turned out to be brazier, hot coals burning in it and the handle of some poker sticking out.

"Close the door." Alara ordered, not even bothering to turn around to face him as she faced the wall where several of her favourite toys currently hung, all of them used for her pleasure and often resulted in pain for him, though none would ever leave a permanent mark, if one at all.

He closed the door and left his back facing her. The sound of cloth rustling let him know she was disrobing. He didn't even bother to wait for the order as he removed his own. They had done this every night for two weeks already.

"Come here pet." She purred.

He turned to face her and joined her by the wall.

"Lean up against it. It helps." She purred.

He glanced back at the poker heating in the brazier and noticed it was a brand instead. He rested his hands and forehead against the wall and braced himself for the inevitable. She came up behind him, rubbing her bare skin against his and purring like a kitten.

"Open."

He opened his mouth and let her place the wooden bit, already splintered from past use, in his mouth so he could bite onto it. She preferred grunts and whimpers of pain as opposed to screams, and knew how to get them. She brushed his hair out of the way and over his right shoulder.

"Don't move. I do not want to mar the image."

She stepped back away from him. His hands clenched into fist as a wave of heat washed over his back, emanating from the brand. He could feel the heat hovering over his left shoulder. His teeth bore down on the bit, causing more splinters to form.

The searing pain erupted in a flare of agony as the brand touched him. As quickly as she had touched him with it, it was gone. The pain was amazing and he fell to his knees, clutching his searing flesh.

"Stand." She snapped in anger. "I am not done with you yet."

When he did not immediately obey, she grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to his feet, spinning him around until his back slammed painfully into the wall.

"If you move, I will kill you." She promised.

The searing agony in his shoulder had most of his attention, but her words did penetrate.

She brushed his hair out of his face, rested one hand on the base of his neck, and used the other to reach behind her to grab a smaller brand he hadn't noticed. His eyes widened in terror when he realized what she planned on doing with it.

"Don't move. I would hate to get your eye instead." She purred.

He tried to push away from the wall, but she slammed him back into it, causing new pain to shoot down his searing shoulder. He screamed in pain as the bit clattered to the floor and his head seemed to swim slightly. The dizziness was quickly expelled as pain erupted in his head, causing him to see a wave of white. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious before he even hit.

When he woke several hours later, his forehead had been wrapped in bandages and throbbed in pain to the pumping of his heart. The mark on his back was also covered. Unfortunately he was lying on the burn with Alara using his chest as a pillow, giving him no option to ease the pain.

A hand went to his forehead. He grimaced when he touched it gently, pain erupting almost at once. There was no way he was going to be able to hide that without his forehead protector, which had been confiscated on the day of their capture and never returned.

"Awake." Alara commented.

She shifted until she straddled his thighs.

"What did you do to me?" He demanded weakly, pain still burning on his shoulder and forehead like a sunburn that wouldn't let up.

"I told you earlier, my pet. I marked you as mine." She answered, letting her tongue lap at his neck as she nibbled on it. "We will get something for the pain tomorrow, if you please me." She purred.

He hated her, almost denied her. She tapped his forehead with a finger and he almost screamed in unbearable pain before managing to stop himself. Pain erupted at the touch and he ground his teeth.

She chuckled as she rubbed her entire body against him, purring as she did so. She forced presser on the large burn on his back and he did yelp in pain that time. She chuckled and sat up again, then shifted to his side.

"Clearly, you are still in pain." She chuckled, running her fingers through his blond hair. "I wonder how long can you hold back your screams." She purred. "Unless if, of course, you want to take the initiative? I will lay on _my_ back for a change." She offered.

Clearly she was not going to let up until she got what she wanted out of him. Just for one night couldn't she leave him alone? Apparently not.

He weighed his options. He could let her molest him like she always did, but he knew the searing pain would get some yelps out of him and that would alert the others something was up. Last thing he needed was for Akimichi to come charging in to his rescue.

He could please her, but to do so would be a betrayal to his wife, despite the fact that he had done so on missions with other female shinobi in the past as part of their cover. This was different in his mind. Not anything like a mission. This was torture.

"_If this was my village, your wife would already be dead, as would your daughter if I felt I had no use for her… …but know this, I have no fear of taking her out if I need to in order to get what I want."_

Her words from earlier rang through his head like a warning bell. He would do anything to protect his family. Even this. He closed his eyes, using the image of his family, much in the way Kurenai was using the image of the children, to get him through this as he shifted off of his back, the pain from the burn easing as he took his weight off of it.

"Good boy." Alara purred as she shifted under him.

It was so degrading. Like a mistress petting her pet on the head as a reward for doing something right. He hated this. Every second he granted her pleasure tore him up inside. The safety of his family was more important then his own. If this was what it took to keep his wife safe, then so be it.

* * *

Hopefuly at this point you are hating Alara. If so, then yeah for me. I wanted the reader to hate her without making her too evil. I have no plans on killing anyone other then nameless shinobi at this point. I will make sure people get painfully injured form time to time. No one can run from such a high skilled group without incuring some injuries. Next chapter; The Shadow and the Deasrt Rose, one of my personal favorite chapters. 

About the seal in the cave and vouma-sama. I am afried more information will not be revealed until later one, as will more of Kyuubi's past. I regreat that more OC's are on the way, but only three take any form of front light and the others are religated to the background. They show up in chapter 18.

Thanks to GaMeBrEaKeR, Teal colored eyes, bakusensei and NissanNut for reviewing.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

Chapter 14

The Shadow and the Desert Rose

Sakura woke to sun filtering into her eyes. She was curled up against something warm and someone had taken the time to throw a blanket over her. She woke slowly, listening around her to familiar voices whispering to each other.

She sat up and stretched before turning back to see who she shared a bed with this time since the last thing she remembered was healing Genma before falling asleep.

Said Jounin was still sleeping beside her, looking a little healthier and showing no signs of waking up or of having woke up at any time.

"_Great. First I collapse on Neji, now I sleep with Genma-san. I swear I am giving up medicine." She grumbled. "When I get back, I am going to have to grill Tsunade-sama to get her to confess how may compromising positions she woke up to with her patience's over the years."_

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan." Lee greeted her, handing her a plate with some egg and bird meat on it.

"Ohayo, Lee-kun. Who found eggs?" She asked.

"Henabi-chan and Konohamaru-kun. Shikamaru-kun has the genin out gathering food with Iruka-sensei. They are the only ones left with anything resembling chakra." Lee answered.

"Hai. That's true."

She got out from under the covers, set the plat aside, formed several seals, than started to scan Genma. He was fine; most of the poison had worked itself out during the night. His physical injures were going to take much longer.

"Genma-san." She called softly, shaking his left shoulder slightly since the right was badly injured.

He woke with a grunt, blinking his eyes and looking up at her in confusion for a few seconds before reality caught up to him.

"We made it to safety?" he asked.

"Hai. What's the last thing you remember?"

She asked, helping him to lean against a root and then feeding him since he was unable to use his right hand at all and his left arm was heavily bruised and had strained muscles.

"I was fighting that brute." He answered.

"Yashero-san. He knocked you aside and went after Kiba-kun, but Naruto summoned a frog and stopped him. After that Shikamaru got us to use our blood on the seal on the floor and it opened a portal to here. We went through it and found a place to hide." She filled him in.

"Shikamaru-kun wanted to know the moment you woke up." Lee requested.

"Go tell him I am awake than. Where is he now?" Sakura asked.

"Scouting for a more suitable place to hide and rest with Temari-chan." Naruto answered her as he arrived. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan, Genma-san. You both look like hell."

"Not all of us have a youkai sealed in us to heal us after a few hours rest Naruto." Sakura growled.

"Trust me, you don't want to go through the hell of having one sealed in you." Naruto chuckled before turning his attention to Lee. "I think Shikamaru and Temari-chan headed to the mountain to the west. They wanted to survey the land and try to get a better guess as to where we are. From Ino and Tenten's estimation yesterday afternoon, we got a long walk home."

"Ossu." Lee left to find Shikamaru and Temari while Naruto leaned against the tree root Genma was resting against.

"Yesterday afternoon? Surly I didn't sleep that long." Sakura asked.

"Maybe I should have said last night. Sakura-chan, look at your watch." Naruto suggested.

"Huh?"

"What time does it say?"

"Twenty-three forty-nine." She answered, than blinked as her head snapped up too look at the rising sun.

"According to the figuring, we are across the ocean and far to the north." Naruto reported calmly.

"Across the ocean? We got even further away from Suna?" She demanded, a hint of hysteric in her voice.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. We'll get back. It's just going to take a little longer, that's all." Naruto grinned at her.

"Naruto, it takes over a week to sail between the continents." Sakura sighed in exasperation.

"So?" He asked.

"Naruto, how do you remain so optimistic about everything?" She asked sadly, a hint of depression in her voice.

"It was what kept me going through the years of loneliness." He admitted after several seconds of silence.

Sakura felt her face fall as feelings of guilt washed over her. She had been just a guilty as everyone else.

"Besides," Naruto grinned, "we can't have the kids start panicking now can we. It's a Hokage's duty to keep moral up." He laughed.

"Naruto." She grinned.

"I got to go. I have to go with Akamaru again to try and find somewhere more secure to rest up. Shikamaru-kun figures we got four days to rest before we head out."

"I thought he figured seven?" She asked.

"Well, he started doing those annoying calculations of his using Lee's speed as the target speed and guessing they already will have a supply of blood ready."

"Why would they have a supply of blood ready?" She asked.

"Something about a Blood bank. Do banks use blood for something?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sakura could have slapped her forehead for having not thought of that obvious answer. Kami, she worked in the hospital. Of course, she wanted to slap Naruto more for his stupidity.

"Good luck, Naruto." She offered as he left, Akamaru and Kiba joining him.

At least Kiba tried to join him.

"Kiba." She barked.

He froze.

"You are not going anywhere until I have cleared you."

"I am fine, Sakura." He protested. "Hinata already looked at me."

"Get over here." She commanded.

He looked like he was ready to run, but did walk up to her. She formed several seals and did a quick check of his system. He was low on chakra and had multiple lacerations that had been dealt with, but other wise was fine.

"Alright, but no longer then a few hours." She cleared.

"Right. Let's go, Akamaru."

Akamaru barked in agreement as the three of them left.

"How bad am I?" Genma asked once they were alone.

"You had multiple poisons running through your system, but I got most of it out and the rest worked itself through. None of it was serious, just disabling. You have the ever-popular cuts and bruises, a few stitches so be careful how you move, a few pulled muscles that Hinata is mixing an ointment for. And, of course, the ever popular cracked ribs and minor concussion. In short, you are not much better off then Neji was when we started this, and I am almost out of chakra so I can't pull a full healing out of my pocket this time."

He took her report in silence, than started to feel around for something.

"Looking for this?" She asked, holding up the needle he always chewed on.

"Hai." He reached out to take it, but she pulled it back.

"Not until you have recovered enough to not pass out at random. I don't need to find you dead in a pool of your own blood from falling forward and imbedding the darn thing through the back of your head."

"I won't chew on it." He offered.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Are all men horrible liars?" She asked.

He blinked.

She tucked it away, formed several seals, and started to work through his system again, healing his ribs first and lowering the swelling on his brain. The rest could heal with time.

(break)

"How are we going to get back?" Temari asked, as they walked with Neji through the thick forest full of trees none of them had ever seen before.

Neji had his Byakugan activated and was walking behind them.

"Let's just find where we are first. It's possible that the portal might have messed up time a little." He suggested.

"Time?" Neji asked.

"It may have only felt like a few seconds to us, but it may have been an hour or more real time. So we may not be as far off as we thought." He answered.

"But wouldn't our watches show it?" Temari countered.

"Not if we were in a time pocket." Shikamaru countered.

"This is really starting to sound far fetched." Neji complained.

"Regardless, we need to know what the terrain is like. The portal is most likely guarded so we are going to have to take the long road back, or find allies to help us."

"There is a chance we will be seen as hostile, assuming we even speak the same language." Temari added.

Neji sighed and tuned them out. When they got on analytical mood, nothing could stop them and it was best for normal people's brains to just not listen.

The forest was as big as the one in the forest of death, and no doubt as dangerous. So far they hadn't encountered anything threatening. The birds he spotted were similar to the ones back home, and he did spot a brown falcon like the ones they used for messages back home.

He noted it to Shikamaru and Temari, who instantly started to work it into their calculations. It was noon when Lee caught up to them to report Sakura had awoken. The mountain was a few miles off, so they decided to finish the mission first.

"A volcano." Temari noted.

"Explains why it's the only mountain for miles." Shikamaru added.

"Looks safe enough."

"Too obvious of a landmark. Our best bet would be to travel away from it."

"That would lead us away from out destination." She pointed out.

"It would keep us safe." He pointed out. "Let's get to the top and see what we can find first before making a decision.

"I agree."

Lee and Neji remained silent as they climbed the mountain to the top, taking a few more hours. The forest stretched around them in all directions. Temari pulled out a spotting scope Konohomaru had been kind enough to let them borrow and started turning in a circle.

"I think that's the ocean." She pointed to the West, handing the scope to Shikamaru.

He looked through it and silently agreed.

"How far?" Lee asked.

"Several hundred miles." Shikamaru guessed. "I don't see any towns or anything."

"We should head for the cost and travel up or down it until we find a port." Temari suggested.

"Assuming we find a port that doesn't attack us, how are we going to pay for a ship?" He asked. "I don't think Konoha or Suna coins are going to work here." He pointed out.

"If it is an international port, there must be an money exchanger. But let's worry about that when we get there. What does the terrain look like between A and B?" She asked.

"It's hard to tell with all the jungle." He answered. "Suggestions?"

"We rest for another day at the tree, then started heading either North-west or South-west. This way we are still making for the ocean without heading for this obvious landmark." Temari stated.

"I agree." He closed the lens and handed it back to her. "Let's get back to camp. Tomorrow we will spend the day gathering supplies and doing an inventory check."

"Right."

The four of them descended and made their way back to the tree, following the trail they had marked.

Neji stopped suddenly. His absence of motion caused everyone else to freeze up to.

"What is it?" Temari asked quietly.

"A small heard of very large deer like creatures. To our right." He answered.

"How large?" Temari asked.

"At least four or five times larger then anything I have ever seen." Neji answered.

They shared a look, then started off to the right. They spotted the creatures and froze in shock. They were far taller then they were and had antlers that swept back. For several minutes they did nothing, then Shikamaru clasped his hands together and started to stretch his shadow out towards them.

He snagged two of them, it being about the amount they would be able to carry back.

"Neji, can you kill them with the jyuuken?" He asked.

"Hai."

Neji walked up to them silently. When he was halfway there, the ones not snagged lifted their heads up to look at him, snorting and pawing the ground. He continued forward, than froze when one of them took a step towards him.

He had never seen deer act like this before, granted he had never seen deer this big before either. He pulled a kunai and continued forward. The ones in the back shifted nervously, then started to dance step back a little.

One of the big ones charged him. He stepped aside and rammed his Kunai into its neck. It bellowed in pain and collapsed, blood seeping from it's slit throat. The herd scattered.

He walked up to the two Shikamaru still had snagged and tapped his hands against their side. The coughed up blood and Shikamaru released them from his shadow bind. Neji quickly slit their throats as well.

"Lee, go get others to help." Temari ordered.

"Hai." Lee saluted as he disappeared in a flash.

Each of them choose a target and started working on it. It was dark by the time Lee came back with reinforcements. By then they had most of the deer ready for transportation.

By the time they made it back to the tree, it was midnight. Ino and Tenten had fires going and spears carved to cook the meat. For the first time in almost two weeks, they had a decent meal that filled everyone up.

The rest was cooked up in strips and divided amongst everyone. They took turns sleeping and working through out the night and well into the next day. The children sat around Iruka and learned how to carve the bones into weapons. They had been forced to leave lots of their weapons behind in the various fights they had.

"Shikamaru-kun, you need to sleep." Temari stated, glaring down at him as he cleaned one of the hides.

"I am not tired." He stated calmly, continuing to work.

It wouldn't be perfect, but it would give them another blanket to use or mat to sleep on or a cover from the rain.

"You haven't slept in days. You are going to get some sleep or I will make sure you get it." She growled at him.

He glanced up at her. She had her hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face. She would have looked very scary, but the fire danced off of her, mellowing it down until it almost looked like she was pouting. In short, she was very scary, but also quit beautiful in that pose.

He froze, surprised at himself for thinking such troublesome thoughts, but was unable to stop them.

Her skin was a deep tan from living in the desert, her hair a sandy blond bleached from the sun. She was neither fat nor skinny, neither tall nor short, neither a prom queen nor ugly. She was just above plain. It was her attitude and spirit that screamed out to him.

"Something wrong?" She asked, frowning when he just continued to stare at her, a hint of concern in her voice.

Concern for him, he realized. She scolded him, yelled at him, dragged him around everywhere, and acted very much like his mother he realized. Kami, she was scarier then his mother. Yet, that wasn't what was at the front of his memory right then.

Her body was resting warmly against his. The rough edge of her calluses from wielding her fan was gently caressing his bare skin. Her warm body curled against his as they were nestled under the same blanket playing the games he loved.

"Ile. Nothing is wrong." He denied, shaking the image away.

"Then get some sleep." She commanded; tossing him the blanket he hadn't noticed she'd had in her hand.

"Hai." He agreed, putting his tools down, washing his hands in a bucket of water, and finding a comfortable place to rest.

It didn't take long for Temari to join him. He looked at her in surprise as she crawled under the blanket with him.

"It's getting cold." She grumbled to his questioning look.

It would be far too troublesome to argue so he just shifted a little to let her have more of the blanket. Maybe he could weasel out once she fell asleep.

"Tea?" She offered, handing him a cup.

"Where did we find that?" He asked, accepting it.

"Hinata made it from some of the herbs we had gathered earlier." Temari answered.

He took a sip, found it to be drinkable, and finished it quickly. Temari grinned. He was about to ask why when his world went dark.

(break)

"Operation tea drug successful." Naruto grinned. "Good work Hinata-chan." He commented.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun." She blushed.

"That's two to one Ino." Naruto bragged.

"I'll get the next on." She promised.

"What are you guys doing?" Sakura asked as she joined them.

Hinata blushed deeper as she poured more of the sleeping tea into cups for Sakura to give to those who needed it. Something was definitely up if Hinata was nervous.

"Nothing." Ino denied.

"When you say nothing, Ino-chan, it usually means you are on your match making binges again." Sakura stated firmly, knowing her childhood friend and rival far too well to fall for that lie.

"Sakura-chan, I don't know what you are implying." Ino gasped in mock innocents.

"Right." Sakura said unbelievingly.

"Besides, Shikamaru-kun is one of my team mates so that makes him free game." She grinned.

"Shikamaru?" Sakura looked over to where Shikamaru and Temari were nestled together, again. "I see. So Temari-chan has a lot of help it would seem. I am shocked at you Ino. As his friend, teammate, and as a fellow citizen of Konoha, you should be helping him, not working against him." Sakura scolded.

Hinata looked abashed, Ino chuckled, and Naruto grinned.

"That goes to you too Naruto." She scowled at him.

"But family is much more important than friends." Naruto waved her comment away.

"Family?" Ino asked surprised.

Naruto didn't elaborate as he wandered off to join Gaara, who was sitting alone with his arms crossed. Sakura noticed Gaara uncrossed his arms and had a hint of a smile on his face as Naruto joined him, joyful as ever. Both of them sat down on the floor and Naruto started blabbering to him while Gaara just smiled in mild amusement at whatever story Naruto was telling.

"What does he mean by family?" Ino asked, all thought of Shikamaru and Temari now gone.

Sakura sighed, but decided to answer, tearing her attention way from the two boys.

"As you know, Naruto has Kyuubi sealed inside of him, that's why our parents shunned him and told us to stay away from him. Gaara-sama, as you know, also has a youkai sealed within him. We all ignored and put Naruto down for so many years before he _forced_ us to acknowledge him.

"Well, when he went training with Jiraiya-sama for two and a half years, he spent a lot of that time in Suna, living with Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara. Then, when Naruto got back to Konoha, we received news of Gaara-sama's kidnapping. We went to Suna with Kakashi-sensei to help. Tenten, Neji, and Lee-kun came with Gai-sensei later to help.

"I noticed it then. Temari, Kankurou, Gaara-sama, they all accepted who Naruto was even though they knew what he was and treated him like family. If you watch, you'll notice Temari treats him like a little brother."

"The tea is getting cold, Sakura-chan." Hinata interrupted.

"Your right." Sakura grinned, breaking her thoughts out of the past.

Sakura returned to Genma's side and offered him the tea. He hadn't slept since waking up and she could tell he was fighting it. Men! Honestly, were they all born without a brain?

He winced in pain, no doubt from his half healed ribs, as he took it. She handed the other cup to Choji, who downed it in one gulp and started begging for food again before collapsing and snoring.

"Sleeping draught?" Genma asked, having yet to take a sip of his.

"And if you don't drink it, I'll have Naruto use his _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ to pin you to the floor and I'll force it down your throat with a hollow pole that still has all the rough bark on it." She threatened.

Wasn't there a time when they looked up at him as a superior Jounin, not bark orders at him as if they knew any better then he did? The fact she had a point was not the question here.

He blinked at her, but did drink it without further argument. She took the cup back and counted to ten, he was asleep by four. She tucked both of her patients back in before getting more tea to hand to the others she knew needed it, Iruka-sensei, Neji, and Kiba near the top of her list.

One refused to close his eyes for fear of the children's safety, one had a stuck up, I am just as strong if not stronger then everyone else attitude, and the last just couldn't sit still for more then a few seconds.

She drugged them all, forcing it down their throats. Iruka accepted his without question when she handed it to him. Neji she handed his to and glared until he obediently drank it just to get her to stop glaring at him. Kiba was harder. She got Akamaru to sit on him, thus pinning him to the floor, while she and Hinata forced it down his throat.

Kiba repeatedly called Hinata a traitor, to the poor girls blushed embarrassment and many 'goman Kiba-kun's,' until Sakura level such a glare at him that he instantly shut up and gulped, expecting death to rain down at him at any moment. Darkness as the tea took effect saved him from her glare of promising death.

The others started to avoid her after that and quickly sought their beds when it wasn't their shift to be doing something. She took the last cup of tea Hinata had made and found a comfortable spot to lay down.

It was her turn to receive the glare as Hinata made sure she drank the whole cup before taking it from her. Sleep came instantly, and she welcomed it.

(break)

"Alright, we got lots of water, and I have a feeling water will not be a problem. The meat from those three deer should last a while. The forest seems abundant in life so keeping meat shouldn't be too hard." Shikamaru started.

"We managed to find some eggs from some nests. We will have to keep our eyes open for more. Hinata has handed out pictures of the herbs she can use and has been testing other plants to see what is edible and what isn't. The genin found a berry bush that was cleared for eating and have managed to pick a few buckets of it." Temari continued.

"Everyone is in traveling condition, if not full fighting condition. Sakura wants us to take it easy for the first day or so. Judging from your estimation on how long our hounds will take to get back on our trail, we should take her advice." Naruto put in his input.

"I will be able to carry our gear. It will only take one or two sleds. The children can walk for now, and it will be fast going without being weighed down." Gaara offered.

"Wood for fires should be pretty easy. Our medical supplies is starting to show signs of needing to be replaced, especially bandages. Our clothes aren't looking much better either." Temari continued. "We should let everyone have the chance to take a bath at the lake and we can wash our clothes and gear while we are at it."

"When are we going to set out?" Naruto asked.

"First light tomorrow." Shikamaru answered.

"What direction? And are we going to mark our trail so we can get back to the cave if we need to?" Gaara asked.

"South-west." Temari answered. "We already know from the constellations that we are far to the north, so we might as well start heading south. The ocean is to the west, so south-west it is."

"I agree." Gaara agreed.

"As do I." Genma second.

"Then South-west it is. Let's pack up tonight and get ready. This place seems no more dangerous then the forest of death, even less so. I motion we get the genin to scout with us." Shikamaru suggested.

"I agree. We can take turns supervising them." Temari agreed.

"What's our line up going to be?" Naruto asked.

"Same as before." Shikamaru answered.

"What about Sasuke?" Gaara asked.

Shikamaru didn't really know where to place him. Half out of distrust and half out of not knowing the full scope of the Sharingan and its abilities.

"Put him next to Sakura-chan and Lee." Naruto suggested. "Sakura-chan and Lee are the only ones not thinking of him as a traitor, other then Neji and myself."

"He left for power and caused a lot of trouble." Temari hissed.

Naruto didn't bother to argue the case as he cast his eyes aside to where Sasuke was sitting alone, pretending he didn't care that no one was acknowledging him, or when they did it was with contempt and hatred for his betrayal.

Gaara also glanced over to Sasuke, though what he was feeling was hidden from the others.

"We should take baths now while it's still warm. We can finish gathering supplies afterwards, then call it an early night." Temari continued, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had falling amongst them.

They nodded their heads in silent agreement and split up to go about their respective tasks. Genma ended up going to supervise the children as they picked berries, that being the least strenuous task and the only one Sakura would let him do.

Naruto rounded up Sasuke and they went fishing in a nearby river that ran from the lake. It was one thing they had perfected to a tee during the chuunin exam.

Neji, Tenten, Henabi and Konohamaru went hunting. Neji and Tenten started training Henabi and Konohamaru how to hunt using the Byakugan and kunai. Since food wasn't an issue yet, they let Konohamaru and Henabi do most of the spotting and striking. They were fast learners and Konohamaru was turning out to be good with Kunai and shirukens, but not much else.

Sakura and Hinata were gathering what herbs they could find that were recognizable and gathering others that were not to test later. They had a few of the children with them to assist in the gathering.

Choji was cooking and preparing the food for travel with Ino's help. Kiba was stationed with Shino at the cave entrance, setting traps to help slow down their pursuers and laying a false trail to help confuse them.

Temari and Shikamaru were going over all their supplies, making a list of things they had and things they would need.

Gaara and Kankurou were making weapons with what they had. Mostly bone, which Gaara carved and fortified with his suna. Kankurou was more interested in carving wood into shirukens and kunai. It wouldn't do as good as medal, but it was better then nothing. The wood around here was strong and would work well enough.

Lee was cleaning up the camp with Iruka and covering any signs of a group of people being there. It was impossible to cover up all the signs, but it would be enough to at least make the place look old and used a long time ago, hopefully throwing their pursers off.

Dusk fell and everyone reconvened. Sitting in a large circle around the fire. The children sat in the inner circle while the teenagers and two adults made a ring around them.

"Alright everyone. It's time to discus what our move is going to be and what everyone's roles are going to be." Temari started.

Everyone stared at her in rapt attention. She explained the plan to everyone, how they were going to move, where they were going, and other such things. Naruto took up the speech after her, using his gift of charisma to get everyone out of the depression they had slowly started to seep in to.

"Alright everyone." Naruto shouted, throwing a hand up into the air and calling the attention to him. "Now that the brains of the operation set up the schedule, it's up to the rest of us to make sure we carry it out. Remember, it is up to us to play the hero's this time. Konoha is depending on us to be strong and I know each of you have the fire needed to see this through the end.

"As long was we stick together, as long as we remember that we are part of the family of Konoha, we can and will complete this mission. The shinobi of Konoha have protected us in the past, rescued us in the past. Our parent, our siblings, our friends, our family of Konoha has rescued us before, now it is our turn to return the favour.

"My friends, ile, my family. Tonight we rest, tomorrow, we begin the long journey home. Together, we can and will free Konoha. With our brothers and sisters from Suna, Akatsuki and Orochimaru don't stand a chance. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day."

Temari felt her heart clench at Naruto's speech. Looking around she could see his speech had affected everyone. They all looked more alive then before. Even Gaara and Sasuke had a hint of a smile on their face.

"Will then, 'ittle brother." Temari spoke up. "I believe it is well past your bed time. Would you like your older sister to tuck you in? Maybe read you a good night story." She asked sweetly.

Everyone laughed or chuckled, even Gaara and Sasuke had a smirk.

"Oh would you big sister." Naruto asked, clapping his hands together with stars shinning in his eyes. "Would you read me and Gaara-chan a story?" He asked, playing along to the laughter of the others. "I want to hear the one about the little Desert Rose who fell in love with a Shadow." He begged.

Temari's eye twitched, Shikamaru looked horrified, and everyone who got the joke laughed even harder.

"Sure." She laughed, figuring she might as well go along. "But tomorrow I am going to tell the tale of the Kitsune who tried to match wits with a rose and got a thorn in his paw." She threatened.

"I want to hear it too?" One of the children demanded.

"Me too." Others chimed.

"Alright. But everyone needs to be in bed." Temari relented.

"Hai." The children dove under blankets and looked at her expectantly.

"Alright, Temari-neesan is telling a story." Kankurou added his input, instigating himself into the group of children with Naruto and Gaara, who had been dragged into the cluster of children by Naruto.

"Is it a sad story?" Henabi asked.

"Is it full of adventure?" Konohamaru demanded.

Temari laughed as she sat on a log facing them, catching Shikamaru's hand and dragging him next to her before he could escape. The others spread out around her, interesting to see how she was going to handle this.

Kiba and Akamaru even bent their pride and joined Naruto, Gaara, and Kankurou in the mess of kids, many using Akamaru as a backrest, which got the others to use Naruto, Kiba and Kankurou as pillows. Even Gaara ended up with Henabi and Konohamaru using him as a backrest, taking him by surprise, but he didn't object.

Temari couldn't help to smile at the image of her youngest brother nestled into a group of children who seemed to have no fear of him. It was the childhood he should have had and she felt a wave of guilt hit her for having giving into their fathers wishes and her own fears too easily.

She brushed the thoughts aside and started her story, to the delight of the children.

"A long time ago, a Desert Rose left the desert to test her strength against the trees." Temari started. "You see, she thought that the trees were weak since they had all that water and nice weather. A long time ago something happened between the trees and the desert roses. Even though a truce was called, the desert roses though that the Rose Bush agreed too easily to the terms of the trees and that they were put under unfair jurisdiction.

"Angry at the trees, when the Asp came and offered the Rose Bush a chance to get back at the trees for the unfair restriction, the rose bush agreed and sent the Desert Rose on her journey to help bring down the trees.

"When she arrived at the thicket the trees called home, she was convinced her theory that the trees were weak was true. All around her she saw trees laughing and joking and having fun instead of growing stronger. This angered her. How could the trees be so strong when they did nothing to defend themselves or make them stronger?

"The Desert Rose went about her task and fought many trees to try and prove how much stronger she was then they, but then something caught her eye. Amongst the boisterous loud trees was a Shadow.

"The trees angered her for their weakness, but the Shadow caused fury for her. Here this Shadow was, quite, peaceful, not caring what went on in the world around him. He intrigued the Desert Rose and angered her all at the same time.

"Finally, they fought. The Shadow seemed more annoyed at the fight and didn't seem to put any effort into it. The Desert Rose got angry with this and fought harder, losing her head in the battle until the Shadow caught her and won. She was furious and shocked that the weak, little Shadow had out smarted her and beat her.

"The Desert Rose thought that was the end, but the Shadow surrendered and left. Now she was intrigued even more. The desert roses attacked the trees at the behest of the Asp, and a battle ensued, in which the trees won with the help of a Kitsune.

"The Desert Rose left the thicket and forest to return to the desert, but she couldn't get her mind off of the lazy Shadow that had managed to catch her when no one else could.

"Months later, she returned to the forest on a mission and found the Shadow in trouble. Without thinking, she ran to the Shadow's aide and won the fight for him, rubbing it in his face while she was at it, trying to prove how strong she was.

"The Shadow's friends had been injured and she helped him back to the thicket where he awaited the results of the injured trees bitten by the Asp's five fangs. She tried to offer him comfort in her own way, but it would take the help of the Shadow's dad and the good news that the Shadows friends were fine, to comfort him.

"The Desert Rose had to leave again, but this time she felt less hatred for the Shadow and more interest. When they met again, it would be the Shadow's turn to help the Desert Rose find her missing brother, who had been kidnapped by the Rising Sun.

"They traveled for a long time together, learning more about each other in the process until they managed to find the Desert Rose's brother and returned to the thicket since it was closest and the Rising Sun was pursuing them.

"They made it to the thicket where the new leader of the trees met them. Unfortunately, the Asp and the Rising Sun caught up to them and they were forced to flee again, with many other trees and young sprouts.

"Now they are on the run and hope to kill the Asp, set the Rising Sun, and save the thicket and other trees." She finished.

The children were sleeping soundly, some of the Genin still awake.

"So what are the Shadow and the Desert Rose going to do now?" Konohamaru asked.

"They are going to take the little trees and saplings back to the other trees and kill the Asp and Rising Sun with the help of the other trees and Desert Roses." Temari answered.

(break)

"_Good answer._" Shikamaru thought, amused by the story Temari told of their relationship, and surprised at the insight it gave him to her own feelings.

"Are the Shadow and the Desert Rose going to get married?" Henabi asked.

He felt a clutch of fear and apprehension hit him as he waited for Temari's reply.

"I hope so." Ino piped up with a smile.

"_Traitor._" He growled inward at his old team mate.

"Me to." Naruto agreed.

"_Make that two traitors. Now I know who's behind the conspiracy. Naruto I expected, and Ino I should have guessed at._" He grumbled to himself.

"Temari-san?" Henabi asked.

"Well, the Shadow would have to ask the Desert Rose first." Temari answered with a smile.

"What if the Shadow asked?" Konohamaru demanded.

Shikamaru froze as he waited for Temari's response. What would she say if he ever worked up the energy to do something so troublesome as to ask her? Kami, what was he thinking? She was scarier then his mother. It would be way to troublesome to marry her.

Why was he thinking about it anyway? Sure he liked her and respected her, but she was way too strong willed for his taste. And roses have thorns.

"_But their scent can sooth the deepest cut and their petals are the softest in the world. Besides, thorns can be worn down or avoided_" His mind stated.

"_Shut up._" He told himself.

Great, now he was talking to himself. Yep, he was going insane.

Temari grinned. "I think it's past your bed time."

Was she blushing? It looked like it. He felt slightly disappointed for not hearing her answer, and relived at the same time.

"I hope the Shadow asks the Desert Rose and they get married." Henabi spoke up.

"Me to." Temari agreed in a whisper so quiet that Shikamaru wasn't sure he heard it.

His mind went blank, than started to replay the scene in the cave where they were nestled together. It had been haunting him since then. Unconsciously, he shifted closer to her until their thighs were touching.

He never noticed until he snapped out of it at the sound of a chuckle. Horrified, he covered it by standing up and stretching, excusing himself to go off to bed. It was a poor way to get away from her as he had already resigned himself to the fact he would awaken to her nestled against him anyway.

* * *

Well, that was my favourite chapter at this point. Please review.

Kiyoko-san; I was using Shikato at first, but according to one of the episodes where Tsunade addressed him by name, it was Shikaku. I was unable to find his name mention anywhere else, manga or otherwise.

GaMeBrEaKeR; I refined that scene so many times and that was the best I can get it. Unfortunately there are too many people to focus on when writing. Fight scenes are definitely better off animated. I think you are right about Choji's father's name and I might start to use it.

dragonzair; I was wondering how running the scene into the next chapter would be received. I am glad that it went over well.

NissanNut; Have no fear, she will not be touched. I don't even think Yashero would make a try for her. She's too scary. It was the threat that was important.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto.

**Warnings; Two scenes of sexual nature this chapter**. The first is between Shizune and Kabuto and is consensual. The second is between Yashero and another as is not consensual. Shizune and Kabuto are at the end of the first break while Yashero and his victim is at the end of the second break. The scene with Yashero will be marked, but the one with Kabuto and Shizune will not be.

This chapter dedicated to GaMeBrEaKeR, dragonzair, and bakusensei for faithfuly reviewing.

Chapter 15

Konoha's Stress

"And that's what we saw." Kurenai finished explaining to Shizune as they sat together at a table in the cafeteria of the hospital.

Katsu and Kabuto were off doing their thing, leaving the two women alone to fill each other in on what had happened since they had last met. Shizune was shocked at what Kurenai had told her, the use of the mirror image jutsu brought about large amounts of security risk and the potential to expose Kabuto and Sasuke as traitors.

"You said they don't seem to care much for Orochimaru-sama and have no plans on reviling anything to him. How sure are you of this?"

"Very sure. It's them reporting to Akatsuki we have to fear, but they seem more intrigued to see what the children are going to do then reporting the find to Akatsuki." Kurenai answered. "They merely have a contract with Akatsuki to cow Konoha and hunt the kids. Katsu-sama seems to have a soft spot for kids so I doubt he will want to overly jeopardize them. From what little I have seen and heard of Kenari-sama, she also has the same feelings."

"I see." Shizune frowned, clearly deep in thought.

"Shizune-san." A hesitant, male voice called.

Both girls looked up at a sealed Genin who had been assigned to run messages in the hospital as he approached.

"What is it?" Shizune asked kindly.

"Kabuto-sama wished you to treat someone with third degree burn marks." The boy reported.

"Third degree? How bad?" Shizune asked, their meal forgotten as both Jounin followed the boy to the room the patient was in.

"Just on shoulder and forehead." The boy reported, stopping out side of the room. "He was brought in a few minutes ago and Kabuto-sama asked that you take care of him."

Kurenai and Shizune entered as the boy left.

"Inoshi?" Shizune asked surprised.

"What the hell happened?" Kurenai demanded as both girls took either side of the bed he was sitting on.

"Alara claiming her property." He answered in a scowl.

"Nani?" Kurenai demanded.

Shizune brushed his golden hair out of the way and removed the bandage from his shoulder, scowling at the mark she clearly recognized as Alara's clan seal. Kurenai gasped when she saw it, blistering red and swollen.

"Kurenai, I need a burn paste. Go ask Katsu-sama for it. He should be in the medicine room right now."

"Right." Kurenai left, rushing down the stairs and bolting into the room.

Katsu looked up at her in surprise.

"I need a healing paste for third degree burns, Katsu-sama." She demanded.

He blinked at her, but handed her the jar of paste. She snatched it out of his hands and bolted again, almost forgetting to thank him as she raced back to the room. The bandaged around Inoshi's head had been removed and she was shocked to see the burn there to.

"What happened?" Kurenai demanded again as Shizune started to spread the paste on his shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain. Her hands were glowing blue with healing chakra.

"Alara." He answered, hissing in pain as Shizune put pressure on the burn. "She wants my families techniques and decided to claim me as hers in her villages style."

"Your family techniques?" Shizune asked confused, placing a gauze over the wound and taping it on.

"She wants to bred into your line." Kurenai guessed correctly.

"Bred into a line?" Shizune asked.

"When one villages wants the techniques of another, the best way to do it is to kidnap a member of the target family, preferably a female, and bred into it. It's faster than studying it." Kurenai explained. "Alara must want you abilities since they are good for infiltration, which is her specialty." Kurenai guessed.

"Hai." He agreed, hissing in pain as Shizune started on the horrible burn on his forehead.

"Do Nara-san and Akimichi-san know she did this to you?" Kurenai asked.

"Not yet, but I won't be able to hide it." He answered.

"This is going to scar badly." Shizune cursed. "You'll probably have it for the rest of your life."

"Kurenai-san, does Katsu show any signs of wanting an heir?" He asked.

Kurenai blinked. The thought that she might get pregnant from Katsu's demands on her body had never occurred to her. Now she wondered why it hadn't and the prospect of being forced to bare children for him frightened her.

"Ile. Not that I know of." She answered, her shock evident in her voice. "I have been taking my birth control pills, but I could always run out and they are not a guarantee."

Most female shinobi were supplied birth control pills for free as it not only allowed them to control their cycles, which could be important for a mission, but also helped prevent pregnancy, as seduction was often a means to an end of a mission and rape was always on the top of the torture list.

"I'll keep you supplied." Shizune promised without hesitation.

"What of Anko?" Kurenai asked sadly.

Shizune frowned, but answered truthfully. "I don't think any of us can do anything for her. Kabuto-sama did speak to Orochimaru-sama, and she was looking better than last time we saw her, but there is no stopping anything he wants. I am afraid none of us have contact with her like we do here." Shizune explained. "I will try to keep her supplied, but I got a feeling that it won't help much. Who knows what kind of Techniques Orochimaru-sama has mastered over the years."

"I see." Kurenai felt an overwhelming fear for her friend's health.

"There. Does that feel better?" Shizune asked as she re-wrapped the bandage around Inoshi's head, the ointment having been applied.

"Hai, Arigato Shizune-san."

"Where is Alara?" Kurenai asked, just now noticing the woman wasn't here.

"I don't know. She dropped me off here, then left." He answered, gingerly touching his forehead.

"Well, gives us some privacy anyway. What do Nara-san and Akimichi-san think of this mirror technique?" Kurenai asked.

"They are concerned, but agree there is nothing we can do about it for now. They are relieved to see our children are currently safe."

"You said Kenari-sama and Yashero-sama are on their way back here, right?" Shizune asked.

"Hai. What about it?" Kurenai asked.

"I can get Kabuto-sama to give them an encoded message to Sasuke and get him to tell them Sasuke is working undercover, confirming their suspicions." Shizune offered.

"But Sasuke would have to meet with Yashero-sama and Kenari-sama for that to work." Kurenai pointed out. "That is very unlikely to happen."

"Hai, but he might do it to learn what the plans are or to try and throw them off course. It's a long shot, but it's the best bet we have right now." Shizune pointed out.

"It might work, and it is better then nothing." Inoshi agreed.

The door opened and all three of them fell silent. It was Katsu.

"Katsu-sama." Kurenai acknowledged, bowing slightly to him.

"So this was what had you in a rush I see." He chuckled, walking up to join them.

He unwrapped the binding on Inoshi's head and chuckled at the mark.

"Alara-san claiming her property I see. I pity you. If it is one thing I know about Alara's clan, it's that they are not nice to their toys. I guess that is what you can expect from a society where females are in command and males seen as nothing more then breeding fodder and property."

"_I don't know if that intrigues me, or sickens me._" Kurenai admitted to herself.

Katsu rewrapped the bandage and turned to look at her.

"Another meeting has been called for tomorrow night. I will be working late tonight, and early tomorrow. Be ready for me by sixteen-hundred tomorrow evening."

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She bowed politely.

"Good. You may stay for a while before heading home, but do not stay later then eighteen-hundred."

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

Katsu left, leaving them alone again.

"No doubt the rest of us will have to go to." Shizune grumbled.

"At least we will be able to see and talk to Anko." Kurenai pointed out.

"The meeting must be because Kenari and Yashero will be back." Inoshi pointed out.

"Do you think Katsu-sama and Alara-sama will tell them about the mirror technique?" Shizune asked.

"I hope not." Kurenai prayed.

The door opened again and they fell silent. This time it was Alara who walked in.

"Ah, done I see." She commented, walking up beside Inoshi and running her fingers through his hair. "I trust he is good to go?" She asked.

"Hai, Alara-sama. Please make sure to put this on three times a day for a few days." Shizune handed him the jar of ointment.

"Hai, Shizune-san."

"Will, let's get going then. You can talk to your friends tomorrow night." Alara commanded as she led him out of the room, all but hanging off of him.

"I hope he'll be alright." Shizune frowned.

"He's a Jounin of Konoha. He'll be fine." Kurenai said more to herself then to Shizune. "_And he has Nara-san to watch his back for him._" She added to herself, wishing she had someone she could confide with back home. Her best bet was Kakashi and she didn't feel all that confident confiding in him.

The rest of the day was spent checking on the patients. Kiba's sister still showed no signs of coming out of her trauma, but was physically looking better. Kurenai was both relieved and saddened to see it. Relieved because Yashero could not touch her as long as she was still in intensive care, and saddened because it was her charges older sister who was in such a state.

In retrospect, it was best for Yashero to be gone on the hunt. It meant Kiba's mother was safe from his attentions. No one had been able to get any information on her, not even Kabuto. Kurenai feared the worse.

Her one impression of Yashero gave her no doubt that Kiba's mother was suffering as much, if not more so, then Anko was.

(break)

Shizune walked down the street next to Kabuto. They walked side by side, not one in front of the other like Katsu, Yashero, Orochimaru and others demanded, nor with one draped over the other like Alara and her group seemed to like, to her disgust.

They walked equally, hands clasped and appearing as any couple would to the public. Kabuto, she had noted, was very soft spoken, almost impossible to anger, and had patience that would out do a tree. He had to have these qualities to deal with Orochimaru on a daily basis and still be alive.

"Kurenai-chan seems to have falling into her relationship with Katsu-san quite well." He commented.

"Hai. Katsu-sama is a gentleman to her, though I can tell she does not enjoy bedding him." She agreed. "Kurenai seems to have a past that haunts her. I think I recall seeing something about being raped when she was younger in her medical files."

He nodded his head in understanding. "And of the others?" He asked.

"Alara-sama branded Inoshi-san some time last night, both on his forehead and his left shoulder. That was why he was in with third degree burns today. She seems to be after his line."

"His abilities are best at infiltration, which is her specialty." He commented.

"Kenari-sama still hasn't chosen anyone. Yashero-sama has been gone a lot and doesn't seem to really pay much attention to his servant, though when he does he is usually rough. Their respected lieutenants seem to follow their patterns." She finished her report.

"I see." He seemed to thinking.

"Kurenai told me something unpleasant today, something that could blow your and Sasuke-kun's cover."

"What was it?" He asked, no hint of fear in his voice.

"It seems Katsu-sama is capable of using a scrying spell by using Inoshi-san and Shikaku-san's blood to lock onto their children. This spell not only gives them a visual image projected in a mirror, but sound as well. That's how they knew Kenari-sama and Yashero-sama were on their way back. They saw the events of the children's escape in the mirror."

Kabuto frowned. "This could become troublesome." He admitted, pushing his glassed back up his nose. "Do they know of Sasuke-kun's betrayal?"

"They suspect, but don't seem interested in doing anything about it. They have no love for Orochimaru-sama. Kurenai fears them telling Akatsuki more then anything. They want to get a message to Shikamaru and Temari to warn them, but that is all but impossible."

"I hear another favour coming." He chuckled.

"What if they let it slip you have been helping them while Katsu-sama and Alara-sama are watching?" Shizune pointed out.

"That could become annoying." He admitted. "I assume you want me to send a message to Sasuke-kun with Kenari-san and Yashero-san." He guess correctly.

"It's a long shot, we know that, but it is all we can think of doing." She admitted.

He was silent for several seconds and she knew he was weighing the options. They made it back to the house they were using, which had been hers. They entered together, the others under Kabuto's care looked up as they walked into the dinning room. They seemed to be in the middle of some sort of dice game that she had no doubt involved gambling.

"Welcome back." Ibisu greeted.

Abrume-san just nodded his head in greeting. Since his kikai relied on chakra, he was only half sealed like she was, allowing just enough chakra to leak out to feed them, which had the same result as him having no chakra.

The last member of their group was an astonishing young woman who apparently was Tenten's mother. Like Tenten, she relied on her ability to hit her targets blindfolded, upside down, backwards, and swinging from a tree.

The fact her chakra was sealed was a minor inconvenience to her. The same went for Abrume-san who used his Kikai to fight over his chakra. As such, like Gai they also wore black to indicate they were still dangerous. A line of kitchen knives imbedded into the wall in an elaborate image attested to her prowess, especially since the design was behind her!

Shizune scowled at the marks in her wall, but didn't say anything. Come morning their other guard would have used his strange jutsu to fix the damage just for the sake of doing something useful in hopes of earning praise from Kabuto, who seemed to be as worshiped amongst the otonin as Orochimaru was.

"I learned some interesting things today." She greeted, joining them at the table.

Kabuto walked past the kitchen and headed up the stairs to their shared room to rest. He used a lot of chakra everyday healing those with no resemblance of a brain and was still recovering from sealing everyone's tenketsu points. She would join him after she shared her news with her cellmates.

"Kurenai-san was able to speak to you again?" Ebisu asked.

"Hai. It seems Katsu-sama is able to use a scrying technique that transmits both sound and image." She started.

They listened to her relate what Kurenai had told her. It was clear they were all relived to know their children and charges were safe and had managed to outwit Kenari and Yashero.

Like everyone else, they were worried about what Katsu and Alara would report and the obvious breach in security. They were glad that everyone seemed to be okay and that Genma was with them. The older Jounin had been in worse situations then this and had lots of experience to call upon.

She bid them good night after finishing her tale, heading up the stairs to her room. Kabuto was already in bed, but not asleep. She closed the door behind her, slipped out of her kimono, and joined him in the warm bed.

His skin was so soft against hers and she wondered how he did it. His glasses were off and resting on the nightstand. Not a single scar marred his skin, testimony to his astonishing healing skills that was on par, if not greater, then hers.

"I trust the others are relieved to know their children and wards are safe." He murmured in her ear, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace that was neither weak nor strong.

"Hai." She answered, snuggling against him, not at all shy about their absence of clothes.

He let one hand drift down and softly stroked her thigh. She shivered in delight as he let chakra slowly tickle her. It was just one of his many tricks she desperately wished to learn. It aroused her and comforted her all at the same time.

"You have to show me how you do that." She purred, her body slowly starting to tremble as the chakra flowing from his wandering hand excited her entire system, causing undeniable pleasure to coarse through her.

He chuckled as he stopped the pleasurable torture. She pouted slightly. She shifted in his embrace until she faced him. She caught his mouth with her own and began to kiss him deeply.

He returned the affection. Now distracted, she shifted him until she had him pinned beneath her. She pulled from the kiss and moved her mouth to his neck. His hands rubbed her back gently.

She moved her mouth down his chest, shimmering down his body as she did so. He purred in pleasure, but stopped her when she hit his stomach. She had already proved how well she could dominate him when she moved lower and he was not about to let that happen again.

She pouted, but kissed her way back up his body. Since she couldn't use her mouth to excite him, she used her hand instead, starting by stroking the inside of his thigh as she sifted to his side.

He let chakra fuse with his hand again and started to let it tickle her system again. She moaned in pleasure, rubbing her body against his. Her hand found its target and she grinned against his skin when she noticed how excited he already was.

Their low moans of pleasure filled the room as they worked to drive the other insane. She had never figured he would be this good at lovemaking when they had done this the first time, but she sure as hell didn't protest. Many women would kill to experience such pleasure as what he bestowed upon her.

They shifted again until he had her under him and was resting between her legs. She grinned up at him as he moved into position.

"I will win tonight." She promised.

"We will see." He offered.

It was a contest to see who could cause the other to lose themselves first. The score was in Kabuto's favor since he was able to cheat with his ability to let his chakra tickle her system and he used it merciless.

He entered her gently. It always amazed her how someone as strong as he was could be so gentle. Soon the only though in her mind was the pleasure that was spreading through her entire system.

She fought to keep her mission at the top of her mind, to make him loss himself first. It was so damn hard though when he was sending shocks of pleasure up her body wherever his hands wandered.

She had to find a way to counter before she lost. Already she was riding the crest of her peak. Her hands clawed his back; any scars would be gone come morning. She snarled in denial and started to nip his neck with her teeth. When that didn't work she started to let her warm, wet tongue lap at the juncture of his neck, causing a shudder to rack his body that she felt straight down to her core.

In the end neither one of them won the match. It ended in a tie. He threw his head back and grunted in pleasure as he dove deeply into her one last time. Her hands clenched his hips as she rose to meet him, gasping in pleasure as she rode the wave of pleasure to the other side, holding him there until the last vestige of pleasure was slowly swept away and exhaustion started to settle in.

They panted for breath, utterly spent and tingling with residual pleasure. Kabuto rolled off of her and onto his back, panting slightly for breath. She moved up until she was resting her head and arm on his chest, marvelling at how well built he was for medic.

She let her hand trace circles on his stomach, than moved it to his sides where he squirmed as she tickled him. She had found out he was ticklish quite by accident, and like any true shinobi, utilized that knowledge to its fullest potential.

"Devil woman." He cursed, absently brushing her hand away from his side.

"Serves you right for cheating by using your chakra." She countered, stealing a kiss from him.

He didn't have a good argument for that so didn't bother. She rested her head on his chest and allowed the soft beating of his heart and the gentle strokes of his fingers on her back to lull her to sleep.

It may have been a crime for the two right hands of the legendary Sannin who hated each other to love each other, but neither one of them seemed to care. For now, they would just enjoy each other's presence and take comfort in each other's arms and understanding of what it was like to deal with a legendary Sannin.

Orochimaru and Tsunade may have different beliefs and ideals, but their attitudes were almost the same. No one other then the other could truly appreciate what it was like dealing with them on a regular basis.

(break)

The little kennel was dark and gave her no room to move. That she could live with. The absence of clothes, the degrading dog collar and chain attacked to her neck she could not. With her hands tied behind her back, she had no choice but to lap up her food and water like a dog.

Things had been quiet for several days and she figured he must have left for a mission. That was fine by her, just so long as her family was safe. She knew her eldest was in the hospital, he had complained about someone named Katsu and the traitor to Konoha, Kabuto, preventing him from claiming her. Her youngest, she was relieved to hear, was free.

The rest of the family was not so fortunate. Kuromaru, he companion since her genin days, was no longer amongst the living, though it was his fur that kept her warm.

Yashero, the bastard of a man they had failed to kill years ago, had forced her to watch, chained helplessly to a cross, as he slowly killed her partner. She tried to shake the memory aside, but it failed as it always did.

Skinned alive, the blood flowing, Kuromaru's yelps of pain. In the end, what was left of her partner's body had been left to rot just outside of her cell so she could fully enjoy watching the crows eat it everyday. Nothing but bone was left now, but the image of maggots crawling in his meat and birds pecking his eyes out would forever haunt her.

Yashero had taking the hide and had it tanned. Now she was forced to use it like a blanket in her small kennel. It was night now, explaining the darkness. Yashero's men hadn't bothered to check on her for two days so she had been out of water for a while now.

They had a healthy fear of her since she had all but torn one of their hands off with her fangs and many of them bore scars from past encounters with her. The sound of footsteps approaching her kennel alerted her to his presence. Without looking she knew it was him. She recognized his scent and his pattern of footsteps.

The door to her small kennel was opened and the chain attached to her collar dragged her out. She fought every inch of the way, refusing to give in without a fight, even after everything he had done to her.

"Get out here bitch." He snarled, dragging her the rest of the way.

She made a snap for his ankles, which resulted in a kick to the side of her head that made her dizzy. His foot snapped down on her back, forcing her on her stomach. He pulled against the chain, chocking her.

"You seem to forget that I am the Master here. An Inu needs to be obedient to her master." He chuckled at her.

"You are not my master, mangy mutt." She snarled up at him.

He chuckled. "Your daughters companions are still alive. Would you like me to add their coats to your kennel?" He asked.

She growled, knowing he had her. Later he would threaten the other Inu, then the pups. They had played through this every night since her capture. She was not going to make anything easy on him. She was going to fight him every inch of the way.

The restrains on her wrist were let free and she instantly started to push against the ground in an attempt to dislodge him. He kicked her side, than started walking away. She had to scramble along the ground to prevent being choked to death. He leaped up onto the first branch of the tree that was already coated in her blood.

The chain was drawn taunt around her neck and she fought for breath, grasping the collar with her hands in an attempt to ease it. Yashero tied the chain off, than leaped down to stand in front of her.

She snarled at him and tried to punch him. He caught her hand, drew a kunai, and pinned it against the tree, using the kunai. Her other hand went to pull the kunai out, but he stopped it and pinned her other hand with a kunai as well.

She was restrained again. She couldn't kick him or she would start to choke to death, her toes barely alleviating any of the pressure on her neck. He stepped back and grinned, as he looked her body up and down once.

He traced her scars with one hand, most of them fresh and giving to her by him. She snarled and snapped at him, but did little more then strangle her self for the effort.

"I met you son." He commented.

She froze in fear, almost expecting Kiba to be thrown before her.

"He was lucky that kitsune brat intervened on his behalf. A pity Akatsuki wants that damn kitsune alive. I actually had to stay my hand. He is safe for now. If it is one thing I hate, it is failure." Yashero snarled.

She held back a yelp of pain as another kunai cut a gash on her inner, left thigh, adding to the several that were already there from when he had done this before. Yashero worked off of patterns, and this was one she hated the most. She expected the pain now and was able to predict it before it hit.

First her left, inner thigh, already marked, then her right. His kunai cut her chest next. He released her hands briefly, spinning her around and making several gashed into her back before returning her to her former position.

He stepped back and admired his work as her blood slowly ran down her body in small, red rivers. She glared at him, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing how terrified she was, how much this hurt her.

He put the kunai away and started to undo his belt instead. Not once did her eyes leave his, promising death when she finally got free, as he disrobed and stepped up to her again.

(Warning, violent rape next. Please skip to next chapter if you wish to skip it.)

He took her legs and wrapped them around his waist, pressing her body against the tree, causing pain to erupt in the cuts he had made on her back and inner thighs. She went for his neck with her teeth. He had expected it and shoved the metal bit into her mouth, tying it off.

Now helpless, he repositioned himself, then thrust into her brutally. She howled into her bit as the pain from her cuts amplified the pain in her body. She struggled against him, blood flowing from her hands as she fought to get them free, but the kunai were to deeply imbedded into the tree.

"Howl for me pet." He growled as his teeth bit into her neck, drawing more blood.

She snarled and tried to snap at him, the bit preventing any attempts for her teeth to get him.

He thrust against her harder, slamming her back into the tree, moaning and growling in pleasure as he did so. She howled in pain through her bit. He gasped and groaned, finally letting lose a howl of his own as he came.

For several seconds, he rested against her, than stepped back, breathing laboured, body covered in her blood and his fluid. He sat down on the grass and watched her for several seconds while he collected himself.

"I do so enjoy torturing you bitch." He grinned.

He eventually stood up and wiped himself down with a cloth set next to a bucket of water left next to this tree for just this purpose. He cleaned himself slowly and meticulously.

"I am afraid I must report in. I will see you later, little pet." He chuckled as he got dressed once more and left, leaving her hanging there.

It was a cold night and she was quickly covered in goose bumps and shivered uncontrollably. Her blood took a long time to stop flowing, the pain in her body throbbed in tune with her heartbeat.

She had been tortured and raped before, it was a hazard of being a shinobi, especially a female one, but she had never been so degraded in her life. Yashero would return, he always did. He would continue to degrade her, causing as much pain as possible while he forced her into every uncomfortable and painful position he could think of, either taking her himself of letting his men have a go at her, no few of which bore scars from her and her daughters attacks from past conflicts.

She spent the night entertaining thoughts of her fangs tearing into his neck, and was silently glad her children didn't have to go through this. She could live through it. Her daughter could most likely handle it, having a few bad experiences herself from over the years. But Kiba was still innocent. She didn't want her youngest to have to suffer like this, not yet. He was too young.

* * *

Next chapter; Clearing up some of the relationships and more humerous torture for Temari and Shikamaru with Choji's help.

I hope you are all wishing for a violent death for Yashero now. I debated about keeping this scene, then decided to move it to the end of the chapter, originally it was before the scene with Kabuto and Shizune. The whole point of the scene was for the reader to really, really, really hate Yashero.

Well, I wonder how many people are reading this fic. Only three reviews last chapter, kind of depressing since in my mind it was one of the best chapters I have posted so far.

OC's to date are;

**Katsu**; Kurenai's keeper and a village leader of the village of Mikora, formed entirely from orphans and their decedents. Loves children. Specialties; Healing, interrogation and mirror viewing.

**Alara**; Inoshi's keeper the leader of the Kageken mercenaries. Is after Inoshi's line. Specialties; espionage.

**Yashero**; Mikazuki(unimportant person) keeper, leader of the Ryuujinn mercenaries. Is after the Inuzuka family for the man humiliating defeats his band has suffered at their hands. Specialties; offensive combat.

**Kenari**; No slave yet, leader of the Ryouken Mercenaries. Uses tracking hounds to hunt down her targets. Specialties; Tracking, and hunting.

**Inuzuka Kento**; Age 7. Kiba's younger cousin. Under Katsu' protection and still trapped in Konoha. His partner is Inuki. He is fast becoming good friends with Kiri.

**Hyuuga Kiri**; Age 7. Hinata, Neji, and Henabi's younger cousin. Under Katsu's protection and still trapped in Konoha. She can use her byakugan, but not to the levels of her older cousins. Like Neji she also has the branch clan seal etched on her forehead. She is fast becoming good friends with Kento.

If anyone wished to use these characters, please just ask. Been inspired to write side stories with them or that run off of this fic, please feel free to ask. I am pretty open about sharing my creations, even more so if they have inspired you to write.

If anyone is inspired to draw fan art, please let me know so I can oogle at it. I can't draw worth crap. Karmastrike did draw a picture of Kurenai, Kento, and Kiri and can be found at www . kamastrike . deviantart . com. Remember to remove the spaces.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer; don't own Naruto

Chapter 16

Hearts Desire

The morning sun filtered through the tree roots, waking those not on guard duties. Temari stretched and yawned, forcing herself to get out of bed. Beside her, Shikamaru was also waking up.

She couldn't help but to wonder what he thought of her little story of the Desert Rose and the Shadow. Since he had been sitting beside her, she couldn't see his expression.

A glance over at the children showed that Kiba, Kankurou, Akamaru, Naruto and even Gaara were still being used as pillows. Her youngest brother was awake, she hadn't expected him to sleep, and had a bewildered expression on his face.

It was one of the few times she had seen his guard down. No doubt he was suffering from emotions he had never felt before and was confused by them. This had to be the first time children didn't view him in fear.

It was sad that the citizens of Konoha treated him more openly and equally then citizens from his own home of Suna. Granted the citizens of Konoha hadn't had to suffer through the years of fear, never knowing when Gaara was going to lose control, when he even had control.

Some guilty part of her wondered if things would have been different if they had only showed Gaara a little more love and understanding. Granted their father all but denied them access to him, concerned about his precious weapon. There was no doubt that there was no love lost between her and their late father. She was only marriage bait in his eyes anyway.

While it was true that as a noble of Suna, and sister to the Kazekage, there was a high chance she would be forced into a marriage for alliance reasons at Gaara's command, she highly doubted Gaara would truly force her to marry someone she didn't want.

She glanced at Shikamaru, who was already up and stretching his back. He was hardly from a noble family. Sure his family was ancient, neither rich nor poor. But a deer farmer was hardly fitting for a noble of Suna.

And yet, Gaara seemed to be quite content to see a marriage between the two of them as an alliance between Konoha and Suna. Tsunade seemed to think the same. Everyone seemed to think the same. She had so many allies, including his mother, that all that seemed to be waiting was rather or not he would break and ask her.

She got up and started packing, but her mind refused to leave the subject alone. Shikamaru intrigued her and she was sure she felt something strong for him. But a part of her couldn't help but wonder if she just wasn't using him as a way to get out of marrying some old noble with five wives just to cement an alliance.

Sure she cuddled with him, but in all cases it was because she took the initiative. Ino said it was because he was too lazy and would find it too troublesome to do anything for himself and that Temari shouldn't think too hard on it, but a part of her wondered if he returned her feelings, or if he was just going along with her because it was too troublesome not to; no doubt a hint of fear for what Gaara would do to him if her hurt her also played a factor.

He didn't return her open affections, though he did act as any gentleman would; offering her the larger piece of bread and such, but he would do the same for Ino, Sakura, Hinata, or any of the other girls.

"Something wrong Temari?" Tenten asked.

Temari blinked, not even realizing that she had been frowning and working briskly as any woman did when they were upset.

"It's nothing." She denied, putting on a wide smile for the other girls benefit.

"You sure?" Tenten asked.

"Hai. What's for breakfast?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Choji heated up the last of the deer stew." Tenten answered.

Tenten turned her attention to Lee, who was boisterously announcing how many miles they would travel this day. Happy for the distraction, Temari turned her attention into doing a head count.

The children were eating with Kiba, Akamaru and Naruto still instigated amongst them, with Naruto crying on about his loss and miss of Ramen to the children's laughter. Iruka was supervising and looking half annoyed, half amused.

Sakura and Hinata were checking up on Genma, who had recovered a lot thanks to Sakura's tireless efforts to get him moving again. Choji had healed quickly, mainly just suffering from bruises from all the rolling he had been doing.

Shino, Sasuke, Kankurou and Neji were standing guard at four different points, and Shikamaru was walking up to her with a bowl of stew in his hands. She blinked in surprise, but accepted it with a smile.

They sat down together and ate in silence until he broke it, which surprised her.

"That was a nice story you told." He stated. "The children enjoyed it."

"_Did you?_" She wondered, but was too afraid to voice the question.

She may put a strong face to the world, growing up in Suna as the Kazekage's daughter she had to, but inside she was just an insecure as any other woman when confronted with the man she had feelings for.

A part of her wanted to know what he felt for her, and a part of her feared that answer. Ino insisted he cared about her since he went so far as to complain about her to his team mates, something generally far too troublesome to do.

She needed someone more reliable then Ino, who just lived for gossip, to tell what he felt. Maybe Neji? He seemed good at reading emotions, though she doubted he would do something so pathetic as to find out rather Shikamaru loved her or not. Maybe someone who knew Shikamaru well, like his father; who was not here to ask.

She gave up for now, just enjoying sitting next to him and eating. When everyone finished, they packed up their gear and headed out, marching in the order they had set up. Around them strange birds and insects hummed. The forest was quiet and peaceful, but not a single one of them let their guards down.

They passed the day in silence, moving so as not to disturb the forest around them and doing everything they could to avoid leaving a trail, traveling up a river for several miles to help.

It was mid afternoon when Ino called Shikamaru to the back, wanting to talk to him. Temari almost went as well, but decided to remain at her post. To her surprise, Choji joined her, munching on meat speared on a twig.

For several minutes they walked in silence, then he spoke.

"He likes you." Choji stated.

"Nani?" She asked confused.

"Shikamaru. He likes you. I haven't ever heard him complain this much about anyone other then his mother and father for as long as I can remember. He can't keep his eyes off you."

She blinked at him in surprise.

"Shikamaru and I have been friends since we were five, and our families have been friends since the founding of Konoha. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio has been one of Konoha's main forces since it was built."

"He complains about me?" She asked, ignoring the second half of his statement since it hadn't even registered in her mind.

A hint of depression must have made it into her voice, because Choji actually stopped eating to look at her.

"Shikamaru always complains about things like that. The more he complains, the more he has strong feelings for it. If he didn't like you, he would use his lecturing tone instead of complaining tone."

"How do I get him to show me something back? How can I get a message from him to know his true feelings?" She asked.

"Well, what do you know about him?" Choji asked.

"Huh?" She asked confused.

"Just answer."

"Alright. I know his favourite past times are; watching the clouds go by on that hill just outside of his house on sunny days, he likes to play Go and Shoji, he hates doing anything that takes effort, but will do it for the sake of his friends and others, he likes deer and knows a lot about them, he's worried about doing a bad job when it comes to leading and it often causes him not to sleep at night."

"Whoa." Choji looked at her in surprise. "How long have you been stalking him? Not even Ino knows that much."

She blushed, embarrassed at having rambled on like a lovesick kitten.

"What does Shikamaru know about you?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Well, does he know your hobbies, your goals, your dreams, your likes and dislikes?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "He's never asked me about any of that?"

"Do you know his goals and dreams?" Choji asked.

Temari was about to answer, then realized she didn't know what his goals and dreams were, nor what he looked for in a woman. She felt a hint of despair hit her, than resolve. She would find out what his goals and dreams where, and she would find some way to instigate herself into them.

Choji fell back and Ino moved forward to join her, grinning as usually and commenting on the beautiful weather. Temari silently thanked her for the distraction as the two of them started to gossip as only girls of any village could do.

(break)

Shikamaru was beyond confused when Ino's summons called him to the back, but didn't complain as he answered it. In the end it was just her badgering on about what their plans were. It was a clear distraction, but he couldn't figure out what she was distracting him from.

She eventually excused herself, saying she just remembered she had something she had forgotten to tell Temari, before running up ahead, leaving him to fill her post. He almost shouted in protest about the break in formation, but decided that would be too troublesome, and this did get him away from Temari.

Her story remain locked in his head. Of course all the teenagers and adults saw the inside story, they would have to be blind and stupid not to have seen the connection. He wondered how much of what she had said was true feeling and how much was just to entertain the kids.

"Oi." Choji greeted him as he joined his side.

"Oi." He greeted back.

"She likes you, you know." Choji commented.

"Eh?"

"Temari-san. She can't keep her eyes off of you and she knows more about you likes and dislikes then Ino does."

"How would you know that?"

"She told me." He answered, pulling out a new meat kabob and started eating it.

"You asked her?" He demanded, scandalized.

"Just enquired." Choji corrected. "You like her?" He asked.

"She's scarier then my mother."

"You said that already, anything else?"

"She is very strong willed. She knows what she likes and goes for it without giving up. She is protective of her brothers and worries about them constantly. She seems to like children somewhat. Her primary attacks are kaze based and her fan is her primary weapon, she has calluses on her hands to show this.

"She is pretty good at Go and Shoji, often giving me a challenge, even winning on occasion when my minds not into the game. She treats Naruto like a little brother. She loves the desert winds and hates rain."

"You love her." Choji commented.

"Nani?" He demanded.

"Name one other person you know that much about." Choji challenged.

"Ah… That has nothing to do with rather I like her or not." He countered.

"What did you think of her story last night?"

"It was nice." He commented.

"And of Hanabi's statement?"

"What statement?" He asked, trying to pretend he didn't know what Choji was talking about.

"I hope the Shadow asks the Desert Rose and they get married." Choji quoted. "You should have seen the blush on her face."

"She was blushing?" He asked surprised.

"You weren't looking so pale either." He chuckled.

Shikamaru was silent for several seconds, than spoke again. Choji was his closest friend in the world and they never kept secret from each other, but kept each other's secrets.

"After Hanabi said that, I could have sworn I heard Temari say 'me to,' but it was so quiet I though I might have imagined it."

"So that was what she said." Choji said thoughtfully.

"Nani?" Shikamaru demanded.

"I saw her lips move, but I couldn't hear what she said. She looked kind of hopeful and frightened at the same time. Let's face it Shikamaru, your not the most forward guy in the world."

"It's too troublesome." He grumbled.

"Temari really does like you, and I can tell you like her. Everyone can see it. She's worried you don't like her. If you think she is troublesome now, just imagine how much more troublesome she's going to get if she thinks you don't know how much she likes you. She'll stalk you even more."

"So what should I do about it?" He finally asked after absorbing Choji's words and realizing he was right.

"Don't ask me. I've never had a date in my life. Ask Ino or Sakura."

"If I ask Ino, the entire camp will know come sun down." He pointed out.

"So ask Sakura than. As a medical specialist she know all about confidentiality"

He nodded his head in agreement. Out of all the women in the party, Sakura was the best one to ask. Or Tenten. Tenten seemed as close to Temari as Sakura was, but Sakura had traveled with and associated with Temari more.

Hinata was too shy, Hanabi and the others too young, and Ino would have everyone knowing by sundown. He could ask Gaara or Kankurou, they knew a lot about their sister.

(break)

Choji grinned when he saw the look in Shikamaru's eye that meant he was planning. With a grin, he slipped away to meet up with Ino, Shikamaru never noticing.

"Did it work?" Ino asked once he joined her.

"Hai." He answered. "He's on full thought mode."

"Good work Choji. Let's see Naruto beat this one." She chuckled, handing him the last of her chocolate bars.

He almost felt bad for Shikamaru, but his friends really did need a push in the right direction. Temari was able to motivate him like nothing in the past had ever done. Temari made him want to make more of himself, if even so as not to be shown up by her.

His father was right. When it came to Nara men, you needed one hell of a woman to keep them motivated and to make sure they didn't spend their lives wasting away to nothing. Beside, if it hadn't been for his father's efforts, Shikamaru would never have been born.

(break)

"Damn, I think Ino just tied the score." Naruto scowled.

"I think you should get points for the story telling." Tenten commented. "If no one knew what Temari thought of Shikamaru before, they certainly know now."

"Yeah. And the way she did it is in a way Shikamaru would appreciate." Naruto added.

"And you haven't used a Jutsu yet to get them together. Ino used her _Shintenshin_ on her first point." Tenten added.

"Can't you two just leave them alone?" Neji asked.

Both looked at him with raised eyebrows, as if questioning his sanity. He instantly regretted asking the question.

"What do they teach you branch members?" Naruto asked.

"Even Hinata is enjoying this, and that's saying a lot coming from someone as shy as she is. Now if only she would be a little more forward and admit she loves the man she does." Tenten grumbled.

"Who does Hinata love?" Naruto asked.

Tenten sighed and Neji resisted the urge to clock him by shear force of will alone. Surly he still couldn't be this clueless after so long. A genius in a battle and a loser in everyday life. That was Naruto.

"Naruto, it is so obvious that all of Konoha has known for three years or more. I mean, she cleans his house, restocks his cupboards, and never gave up believing in him. She even cooks his favourite food for him when he gets back from missions." Tenten stated in a lecturing tone.

"Hinata-chan does that for someone else to?" Naruto asked thoughtfully.

Tenten sighed in exasperation and Neji started to question just how much of Naruto was brain and how much was pure, blind, luck.

"Naruto, are you truly that clueless?" She asked, echoing his thoughts.

"Umm…. Hahahaha, got you. Of course I know Hinata-chan likes me. It was her words of encouragement that helped me beat his ass anyway." Naruto laughed, pointing at him.

He blinked in surprise at that statement. He never knew Hinata had encouraged Naruto to beat him, though he should have suspected it. The feeling of guilt for how he had treated her started to hit him again before Naruto's words forced his thoughts elsewhere.

"It was then I truly started to notice her. It's just…." Naruto hesitated.

"Just what?" He asked when Naruto didn't finish.

It was rare for Naruto to be uncertain about anything. A glance at Naruto showed that the boy was in the most downed out mode either of them had ever seen. His posture was slumped and he looked defeated. He hadn't looked that downed since they had failed to bring Sasuke back.

"Well, everyone here doesn't care about Kyuubi, I guess because we didn't know anyone who was lost to him. But, a lot of the adults still hate me. They still glare at me and whisper 'monster' behind my back when they think I can't hear."

That was true. Neji had caught it and had occasionally corrected it when he felt the burning need to.

"So. We care about you and know that Naruto is Naruto." Tenten pointed out.

Neji silently agreed.

"Yeah, but what about Hinata-chan's father? I mean, Hiashi-sama is one of the strongest nobles in the village and Hinata-chan is the Heir of her clan. What if he still thinks of me as Kyuubi? Without his consent, anything Hinata-chan and I may have would just be a dream. Doesn't she need to marry some other noble to cement some sort of alliance or something? It would be like a princess marrying a peasant who can't offer her the same style life she had growing up. I have no noble background. I don't even know who my parents were."

So that was what had been bothering him. And here he had figured Naruto too dense to think of such a complex problem that had a high chance of occurring. He had always figured politics were above the hyper active teen's ability to understand. Maybe the year he had spent in Suna with Gaara during his first year of Kazekage beat some politics into his brain.

"Well, what do you think Hiashi-sama thinks of you?" Tenten asked in an effort to help.

He wondered what Naruto thought to, but kept it to himself.

"He doesn't look at me in hatred, but he could just be good at hiding it. He must know Hinata-chan and I hang out a lot, but as far as I know he hasn't denied her the right to see me. I guess he doesn't hate me, but still, friendship and marriage are two different things." Naruto answered.

"I see." Tenten frowned, deep in thought.

So Naruto did have observation skills. He almost said nothing, but decided to put Naruto out of his internal torture.

"_After I become Hokage, I will change Hyuuga for you." Neji chuckled quietly as he recalled Naruto's words to him during their first Chuunin exam. "Bold enough to claim he will become Hokage and will change my family, but too afraid of the head of that family to pursue someone you care about. Naruto, you are a very interesting person." Neji thought to himself. "I think Hiashi-sama will approve." He stated._

"Huh." Both turned to look at him in surprise.

"Naruto, you are strong, loyal, caring of Hinata-sama in ways Hiashi-sama himself never was. I don't think he will object. Besides, he thinks Hinata-sama is weak and that no sane man would want to marry her, so if someone were to actually approach for her hand, I doubt he would object." He said as if stating a fact everyone knew.

"Nani? Hinata-chan is stronger then a lot of others I know. She never gives up trying to get others to acknowledge her. She's amazing with herbs and medicine. Just because her strength lies with medicine instead of combat doesn't make her weak. Kami, who else had ever though to use the byakugan for medical reasons?" Naruto demanded loudly.

Naruto sure knew how to see the strengths in a person.

"That is Hiashi-sama's point of view, not mine or Hanabi-sama's." Neji reminded him. "Besides, was it not you who said 'after I become Hokage, I will change Hyuuga for you'? How do you expect me to believe that when you are afraid of the head's approval?" Neji challenged.

He saw the fire return to Naruto's eyes and knew he had just eliminated the last of any doubt Naruto had.

In truth, Hanabi was actually jealous of Hinata's healing abilities and knowledge of herbs. Anyone in the family was good at the _jyuuken_, but only Hinata was able to take a plant and kill or heal with it.

Neji was impressed that Hinata had taken something she was good at and turned it into strength. She didn't care about meeting her father's standards anymore. She just cared about becoming a strong woman that everyone would recognize for her own strength.

"Right. Gomen." Naruto apologized for his out burst. "So, Hiashi-sama has no problems with Hinata-chan and I dating?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

All right, maybe even the fire Neji had ignited still had some dampers. Maybe Naruto was actually developing a grasp of common sense.

"None." Neji confirmed.

Hiashi-sama had drilled him on his observations of the two so he knew what Hiashi thought of them. If Naruto and Hinata were to marry, it would give him a viable excuse to make Henabi his heir and dismiss Hinata from the family.

It was unlikely Tsunade would let them seal the byakugan as it was part of Hinata's key strength in her healing work and Naruto would never let Hiashi place the seal on Hinata. It was what they would do with any possible children born with the bloodline that the debate truly emerged.

But that was for a possible future that might not occur. It had been agreed between Hiashi, who was Hinata's father, and Tsunade, who was all but Naruto's older sister/mother, that that bridge would be crossed if and when it came.

"Great." Naruto grinned, picking up his steps and humming to himself, cheerful once more.

"He looks cheerful again." Tenten giggled.

Neji just nodded his head in agreement. It was unlikely Naruto know of all of the politics that was being discussed behind his back, but if it was one thing Neji did know about Naruto, it was anything the elders decided would be moot if Naruto didn't like it. Naruto, he knew from experience, had the power to change fate.

(break)

Sakura walked quietly, deep in thought as she looked forward in the line to where Sasuke and Lee were walking. One was an old childish crush. The other was her current interest. They were talking, about what she had no clue, though she bet it had something to do with taijutsu.

Sasuke. The boy she'd had a crush on since their academy days. The boy she had fought with Ino over. They had been on the same team and like any foolish girl she had tried hard to get him to acknowledge her.

Looking back, she laughed at her foolish self. If she had opened her eyes she would have realized just how annoying she had been. It was a wonder Sasuke didn't go insane the way she constantly flung herself at him, like every other silly little schoolgirl who had ever laid eyes on him. Briefly she wondered if that was what had thrown Itachi into insanity, but left that thought untouched. One would go insane trying to figure his mind out.

Yes, she cared about Sasuke, but in retrospect it was the same caring she felt for all her team mates and friends. It was the kind of love shared between siblings, not lovers. Beside, after years of being on the field she had seen just how disastrous it could be for lovers to be on the same team.

Sasuke didn't seem like he had changed much. Still as cool and reserved as ever, if not far more powerful.

"_But aren't we all." She thought with a grin. "All of us trained by a legendary Sannin. Anyone would have killed to have the training we did. They should be lucky they missed it." She thought in a grumble, remembering just how difficult it was to work with Tsunade. _

The woman was a slave driver. It was far easier dealing with Shizune. She had a feeling most of Sasuke's training came from Kabuto-san. She couldn't imagine what training with Orochimaru would have been like. Just thinking of him caused her to shudder. She had met him once, and that was more then enough times for her.

She turned her thoughts to Lee and smiled. She recalled their first meeting and how he had horrified her. Then she recalled him coming to her rescue, despite the fact they should have been working against each other as the mission parameters were. Then his fight with Gaara, where he had never giving up even after he had lost.

He had gone to Naruto's rescue when they chased after Sasuke. He had trained hard to overcome his surgery, refusing to give up when everyone said he had no chance. Then he had done everything he could to win her heart, even asking her mother for her likes and dislikes, going so far as to change his looks when he found out what it was about them she didn't like.

If it was one man who had fought hard to win her heart and approval, it was Lee. If it was any man who had earned her respect for everything he had done, all the trials he had overcome, it was Lee and Naruto, and she still had no interest in Naruto.

Lee had grown up, much to Gai-sensei disappointment and his team mates relief. Everyone had feared they would have another manic on their hands. One was more then enough.

"_Gai-sensei really needs a woman in his life._" Sakura thought with a grin. _"Unless if the rumours that he's gay is true, but I doubt that. I think it's that rival with Kakashi-sensei's of his. It's just not healthy. Look how detrimental it was to Naruto and Sasuke-kun. Even Ino and I gave up on such childish notions."_

She turned her thoughts back to Lee and smiled in memory. It had been his team who had backed them up before they had been split up on the hunt for Gaara. It had been his team that had fought off Kisame, granted Gai did almost all of the work. Kurenai's team had joined them when they had caught wind of the situation when coming back from the Jounin exam in another country, and had shown up to help, minus Shino who was with his father on a mission and already a Jounin anyway. Shikamaru had come with Temari and Kankurou when they had received word of the fight and came rushing to help.

It had later been reviled that Shikamaru had been sent to Suna as a messenger from Tsunade in regards to the chuunin exam that was to be held in one week's time.

It had been the big fight with Akatsuki that had ended up with them being separated. They had stopped the summoning ritual, but Akatsuki had managed to escape with Gaara. During the battle the mountain had trembled down and split into a large crater, dividing everyone up.

Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Lee, Tenten, Hinata, and herself were trapped on one side. Neji, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Temari, Kankurou, and Shikamaru had been caught on the other.

It had been decided that the Shikamaru and his team would go on after Gaara while the rest of them would return to Konoha and report in. Many of them had been badly injured, especially Gai, Kakashi, and Kurenai who had been the primary targets as they had been seeing as the greatest threat. The need to return to a safe house had been great.

The battle had been one of the biggest she had ever fought. The members of Akatsuki were no small fry. She had no doubt in her mind that the only reason they had succeeded at all was due to their superior numbers and the fact that they weren't chumps.

Since that they didn't know were Akatsuki had gone, it was just a simple hunting mission, not invasion mission. Tsunade had supported their decision and they would receive reports form Shikamaru's team every once in a while.

After Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai's report, it had been decided to up Shikamaru and Naruto's level to Jounin as well. Kiba had passed the test and already had been one when he had joined the battle. Temari and Kankurou had also already held the rank, having taken the same test as Neji had over a year ago.

Sakura pushed the thoughts aside. That had been over six months ago now. They had returned to Konoha and she had returned to her training at the hospital with Hinata. Lee had, surprisingly, taken over Shikamaru's place for the chuunin exam and worked with Baki, who had taken Temari's.

Everything had gone back to being peaceful. Lee courted her, she accepted. They were still in the courtship stages, having yet to share a kiss or anything else that intimate. It was hard for them to find time, with her being in the hospital and ran ragged by Tsunade all the time and him on missions with Gai and Tenten.

She blinked out of her thoughts as Genma stared to cough painfully beside her. She had healed most of the damage to his ribs, but he was still walking as if in pain. His cuts and bruises had healed somewhat, but she had wasted no Chakra on those. Those would heal with time, even if they did bother him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing." He denied.

"And here I thought that at least out of everyone here, the one with the most experience would be the least pig headed. As the senior Jounin here, you should be setting an example for everyone else." She lectured.

"Just a tickle at the back of my throat." He answered.

"Drink some water." She suggested. "If that doesn't work, drink this."

She handed him a small bottle of cough syrup.

"Two capfuls." She continued. "Make sure I get that back."

He did as ordered, handing her back the bottle fifteen minutes later when he finally gave in and drank the foul tasting stuff when his cough refused to give. There was no point in announcing their presence to the whole forest and she was right about him setting an example to the others.

They stopped briefly at noon to take a break, mainly to let the kids rest and get something to eat, before continuing on until dusk. Hinata found a good place to rest with her byakugan and they set camp there.

Gaara used his suna to create a fire pit and they hung the blankets off of the tree roots to conceal the light from the fire. So far nothing had shown itself to be a threat to them, but it was just a matter of time. Better to be safe then sorry.

* * *

Well, not an exciting chapter, but cleared up most of the small things. Big thanks to all reviewers. I love constructive critisism. I noticed that I had been speelign HInata's sister's name wrong, so I am going to fix that. It should be Hanabi, not Henabi. Hehe, my bad. Now then, to answer some questions and such. 

I said I wasn't going to post a warning between the scene with Shizune and Kabuto in the author notes at the front and I didn't put an end note to the one with Yashero and Kiba's mother because it was at the end. I always use the line to dived the story from the end notes.

I have seen lots of people give out links to art pages and I have never heard of anyone getting in trouble for it. Maybe if it was a link to eBay or something, but thanks for the heads up.

Oh, for anyone who didn't follow, they are on the Eastern Continent. Yep, whole other continent. That's a long way from home. They have to sail the sea and walk all the way back across Konoha to get to Suna, plus many other countires that are in between.

Next chapter; The boys find out about Kurenai's position.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer; don't own Naruto.

One mild sex scene in this chapter which will be marked.

Chapter 17

Through the Mirror

Three days. It had been three days since they had last seen Shikamaru's team through the mirror. Now they sat before it again, first thing in the morning so it would be about noon where Shikamaru was. Katsu started his jutsu, using Shikaku's blood this time.

Kenari and Yashero had already returned and gathered blood from the blood bank before returning to their mission. It had been the first time Kurenai had seen Kenari and she was relieved to note that Kenari seemed to be a woman who enjoyed the hunt more then anything. Unlike Yashero, she had no sick tendencies to fear.

Unfortunately, they were shocked to hear during the meeting that two of Akatsuki's members would be accompanying them on their hunt. Which two were unknown to them at this time. Kurenai just prayed it was someone the kids could handle.

Katsu finished painting Shikaku's blood on the mirror and joined her. He finished the last part of the jutsu, and once again she missed the words he uttered. The mirror flashed, then slowly settled into an image of Shikamaru, walking through the forest they had seen last time.

Katsu rested his arm around her waist and she obediently leaned against him. She blinked in sudden fear as she realized that Kakashi, Gai and Asuma would see this. Inoshi and Alara they already knew about, but her and Katsu they didn't.

"_Relax." She told herself. "I'll just say I took Kakashi's suggestion to try and seduce him."_

It didn't look like anything exciting was going on. Katsu pulled the image back until it showed more of the formation, swirling it around to see all of it before letting it sit over Shikamaru and Temari's shoulder.

The group was marching in silence, but clearly alert. Ahead of Shikamaru they could see Sasuke, Lee, Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru. Akamaru alternated putting his nose to the ground and to the air in what Kurenai recognized as being in full hunting mode, keeping his nose out for any signs of danger.

They watched the kids march in silence for several minutes until Alara broke the silence.

"What direction do you think they are heading?" She asked.

"Hard to tell." Katsu answered. "The tree's filter the sun too much and should be about noon there, so the sun would be barring straight down anyway. They look less roughed up then last time. I am surprised, I would have thought they would have rested longer."

"Perhaps something chased them away from their spot. A local predator or another tribe or something might have confronted them. Judging by the lack of hurried movement, I would say another tribe or scouts that own that land asked them to leave." Alara put in.

"Ile. I think Shikamaru and Temari aren't taking any chances and decided to leave early. They must have realized or calculated that Kenari would send her fasted runners here and back and judged they didn't have much time."

"True." Alara agreed. "Back tracking is always considerably faster. I have a feeling this is going to be a long hunt."

"They already have a few days head start on Kenari-san now, but the children are slowing them down. It will just take a little longer for Kenari-san to catch up. No doubt she will leave Yashero-san behind with a few scouts to bring up the rear while she goes ahead and starts to slow them down." Katsu added.

"I agree."

Kurenai glanced at Alara out of the corner of her eye and wasn't surprised to see the woman all but draped over Inoshi, paying more attention to running her finger through his hair than what was being showed on the screen. Not that a lot was happening, but still.

"Is there any point in watching this?" Alara asked.

"Not at the moment. The main question is rather they have stopped for lunch or not. It is when they are resting discussion would most likely be abundant."

"Hmm, they stopped." Alara commented.

Indeed, the line had stopped. Kiba had his nose to the air and Kurenai recognized the pose as searching. Hinata was pointing off to the right and now that she was turned slightly they could see she had the Byakugan activated.

"_Hinata saw something and Akamaru is trying to pin if it is a threat or not." Kurenai noted accurately, her students having done it many times._

Shikamaru and Temari moved up in the line until they stood next to Hinata and Kiba, Sasuke and Lee now behind them.

"_What is it Hinata?" Shikamaru asked._

"_I'm not sure." Hinata answered. "It looks like a giant lizard of some sort. Its nose is pointed in our direction and it seems to know we are here. I can't tell if it is friendly or hostile yet, but it is wearing gold rings on its horns."_

"_Intelligent or someone's guard animal?" Temari question aloud._

"_That's the key question." Shikamaru commented._

"_Should we go around?" Kiba asked._

"_It is best to avoid conflict." Shikamaru stated._

"_If it is a friendly guard, we might learn where we are." Temari stated._

"_True." He agreed._

_He remained silent for several seconds, his hands moved into a position she recognized so well. He was thinking._

"_Alright. Hinata, take us around it. Lee, get Neji and Naruto and go investigate, but don't do anything to agitate it."_

"_Hai." Lee's voice came from off screen._

"_Hinata, take us around." Shikamaru ordered._

"_Hai."_

_Hinata turned to the left and continued marching, Kiba and Akamaru next to her. Temari and Shikamaru waited for a few seconds before continuing on their path. Neji, Naruto and Lee briefly entered the screen to talk to Temari before disappearing to the right._

"Is there anyway to follow them?" Alara asked.

"Ile. I would need samples of their blood." Katsu answered. "We will just have to wait and see what they report back."

Alara pouted, but didn't complain.

Kurenai was worried about them, but knew that there was nothing that could be done. They would just have to hope that the three of them would be alright.

Hinata stopped walking again after several minutes of silent travel.

"_What is it?" Shikamaru asked._

"_Lee-san is on his way back. He doesn't look worried. Naruto-kun and Neji-niisan aren't with him." She reported._

"_Akamaru?" Temari asked._

_Akamaru sniffed the air, than barked. Temari looked at Kiba for a translation._

"_Akamaru says he doesn't smell blood or anything to indicate deception or a fight." Kiba reported._

"_ETA?" Temari asked._

"_A few second." Hinata answered._

_Lee appeared on the screen._

"_It's friendly. It doesn't speak our language but Naruto-kun summoned a frog that is translating for us." Lee reported._

"_A frog?" Came someone's confused voice from off screen._

"_Hai." Lee answered._

_They shifted course and headed towards were Hinata had spotted the giant lizard creature._

_For several minutes the forest dominating the screen, then they spotted the lizard Hinata had mentioned._

_Kurenai was shocked at the size of it. Its head was equal to theirs. Like Hinata had stated, their were gold rings on it's horns. It reminded Kurenai of the lizards they had seen in the desert, only green and black in color as opposed to brown._

_Its mouth was big enough to shallow any of them whole and she felt a twinge of fear for the children._

_Sitting cross legged in front of it was Naruto with a red and purple frog sitting on his head. The frog was croaking at the moment, clearly asking a question._

_When the frog finished, the lizard hissed something back. There was several seconds of this, than the frog translated._

"_She says she knows a place where we can find shelter and refugee, but it's a long ways away." The frog translated._

"_How far away?" Shikamaru asked._

_The frog croaked again, then listened as the lizard hissed back._

"_A few weeks travel to the south." The frog answered._

_Temari and Shikamaru shared a look._

"_How sure are we that this place will accept us and welcome us in?" Temari asked._

"_How should I know?" The frog shrugged._

"_Gamakichi." Naruto scolded._

"_Alright. I'll ask." The frog scowled, then croaked again._

_The lizard hissed an answer back._

"_She seems surprised that we would ask what she sees as a stupid question and wants to know how we could have gotten so lost in the first place. She says to head due south for two weeks and we will find our way home."_

"_Home?" Kiba asked confused._

"_Maybe she means this village will be able to help us get back." Naruto suggested. "It seems that this village is held in high regard by her and is known to help those in need."_

"_And boy are we in need." Kiba grumbled._

"_Thank her for her assistance." Shikamaru ordered._

"_And ask how we can repay her?" Temari added._

"_Bossy, bossy." Gamakichi grunted, but did croak to the lizard._

_The lizard shook its massive head, than turned around and nestled itself back into a cave at the root of the tree._

"_She says no payment is needed. The warriors of Seika have done plenty to assist her over the years." Gamakichi answered confused._

"_Seika?" Temari raised an eye. "That's the second time we have heard that."_

"_Second?" Kiba asked._

"_We heard it somewhere else before." Shikamaru answered, brushing Kiba's question aside. "Damn, this is troublesome."_

"_Oi, one use of that statement a day" Temari scowled at him._

_Shikamaru sighed in exasperation, while Naruto and a few others on the screen shared a knowing grin._

"_What are we going to do?" Naruto asked, breaking the sudden silence._

_Temari and Shikamaru shared a look._

"_Head south." Shikamaru answered. "If we can find help there, then it is our best bet."_

"_South it is than." Naruto shouted, thrusting a hand in the air as he jumped to his feet, almost dislodging Gamakichi._

The kids must have formed up, and than headed in what they could only assume was south.

"Judging by the change in direction, they were heading Southwest or Southeast." Alara commented.

"So it would seem." Katsu agreed distractedly.

"What is it?" Alara asked.

"Seika. Have you heard of it before?" He asked.

"Ile. I just assumed they were referring to the country of fire, though why anyone would consider it Sacred is beyond me. Maybe because it has been the strongest country for so long." Alara shrugged the question off.

"Perhaps." Katsu agreed.

The mirror stayed up a while longer, but nothing else of interest happened. The technique ran out and Katsu didn't bother to redo it. Nothing new would come up. Katsu stood up and turned to Alara, who was also standing up.

"It seems we learned nothing more other than they are heading south." Katsu commented.

"A pity. Ah well. Maybe next time something will happen. When shall we check in on them again?" Alara asked.

"How about in three days again. That is the earliest Kenari-san would catch up to them, providing they find the trail and are not delayed in anyway." Katsu suggested.

"Three days then. I will see you then. Until then."

Inoshi stood up and Alara draped herself all over him. Shikaku and Akimichi also stood up with their guard.

Inoshi's marks were clearly displayed and Shikaku was walking with a slight limp. Kurenai had no doubt in her mind that Shikaku had been furious with what Alara had done to his childhood friend and did something rash, which resulted in him probably being beating into submission.

She would find out the next time they had a chance to talk. She remained sitting as Alara and Katsu exchanged goodbyes and Kakashi, Gai and Asuma were dismissed. Now it was just Katsu and her left in the room.

She waited patiently for him to dismiss her, but instead he sat down next to her again. He moved to kneel in front of her and brushed her hair out of her face. She looked up at him, noting he was smiling.

He leaned in and started to kiss her neck, taking a deep breath as he did so. She was frozen in surprise at first, but didn't try to pull back or resist him. She was use to this by now. His hands started to untie her obi, letting her kimono fall open.

"Katsu-sama." She protested, not wanting to be found like this by the children.

"Hush. Obey." He murmured.

She was somewhat use to him taking use of her body, but she didn't want to do this here, not where the chance of discovery was so high.

"Please, Katsu-sama. Can we do this somewhere else?" She asked nervously.

"Why should we?" He asked, slowly pulling the Kimono open to reveal her womanly qualities.

"Please, Katsu-sama."

He stopped and looked in her eyes.

"And if I do decide to go elsewhere?"

He was expecting something from her; she knew it. He was demanding payment from him to stop doing this here and to do it somewhere else. Thus far she had let him do all the work, remaining unresponsive to his advances.

"Are you offering to take the lead for once." He asked with a purr, nibbling at her neck again.

Could she? Was it worth it? She had played that role for past missions, but could she do so here? Did she have anyway or right to refuse?

"Very well." She agreed. "Just, somewhere where we can't be found." She all but begged.

Katsu chuckled, standing up and letting her retie her obi and straightening her kimono. He led her out of the hotel and down the street until they came to secluded place in a park used for just this type of purpose.

She had hopped for a room, preferably their bedroom, but this was better then in the basement of the hotel where the kids might find them. Katsu stopped and turned to face her.

"Well?" He asked after several second of silence between them.

Forcing back her fear, she stepped up to him and untied the belt to his kimono, hands trembling slightly. His kimono fell open to revile his well-built body. She untied her own obi and let her kimono fall open before letting it fall slowly off of her shoulders and to the ground.

She kneeled down and spread it out so it would give them something to lie on. She turned back to him, noticing he had knelt down next to her. She brushed his kimono off his shoulders, moving forward and laying kisses on his neck and shoulder.

(**Here's the break**)

He moaned slightly under her ministrations. She manoeuvred him onto his back, continuing to lay kisses on he neck. When she felt she had worked up the courage and he was ready, she straddled his hips.

For several seconds she did nothing. Once she did this, there was no going back. He would expect it of her. She closed her eyes and slowly moved into position, stopping once he was fully imbedded. She waited to adjust, then slowly began to rock against him.

His hands steady her hips or stroked her breast. Ever so often he would murmur that she was a good girl and it made her want to blush in shame. He eventually started to rise to meet her desperately and she knew he was about to come.

His fingers dug into her hips and he held her tightly against him when he did, not letting her go until every last ounce was through. For several seconds they just remained like that, then she moved away from him.

She felt sickened with herself and wondered how Inoshi was able to do this day after day as Alara demanded. Katsu rested for a few more minutes, then rolled to his side and pulled her into his embrace, nuzzling her neck as she did so.

"Good girl. With a little practice you will be perfect." He purred.

"_I don't want to get better. I don't want to please you. I want to kill you in the most horrendous way I can think off." She snarled inward, but outward answered with an obedient, "Hai, Katsu-sama."_

He nibbled her neck, his hands moved down to tenderly stroke her breast. He did this for a while, clearly resting from his release. Then he shifted her around again until she was on her back and he was straddling her.

She felt the first stirrings of panic hit her, but forced it down. She would not panic for his desires. Would not start screaming and calling kami knew who down upon them to be found in this position.

"You control your fear better. Is it because you know I will not hurt you, Kurenai-chan?" He asked sweetly. "How far can I go before you start asking me to stop?" He asked in a whisper.

She wanted to ask him to stop, but resist the urge to please him in such a way. He chuckled at her and shifted to lie on her side, removing his weight from her body.

"Perhaps we shall test this theory tonight. I must go to work. Thank you for the wonderful morning." He purred, standing up and getting dressed.

(**end of break**)

She clutched her own Kimono around her and headed back to the house with the full intention of taking a long shower to get the sweat and fluid off of her. She used every once of her stealth techniques that didn't rely on chakra to open the door, close the door, get past the kitchen where the boys were in the middle of cooking lunch, sneak up the stairs, and lock herself in the bathroom with a fresh Kimono to change into, tossing the one she had been wearing into the laundry hamper.

She turned the shower on, getting the water as hot as possible without burning herself before stepping in. She let the water rush over her; calming down her nerves and washing away all feel of his body against her.

She picked up the soap and scrubbed her skin raw before starting on her hair. It did little to alleviate her hatred and disgust at herself. She stood there until the water started to get cold, indicating that she had used up all the hot water.

She turned the shower off, dried herself off, got dressed, brushed out her hair and teeth, and when their was no longer any reason to stay locked in her bathroom any longer, hesitated before opening the door to meet her fate.

There was no way Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma had missed how friendly Katsu had been with her while they had watched the mirror. Now she would have to face their questioning. It was time they knew anyway. She couldn't hide it forever, especially if Inoshi's fear of her being used to produce Katsu's heir became true.

When she thought about, he was a medical specialist and she wouldn't be surprised to find out that he could easily nullify the effects of her birth control pills. Best she let them know what Katsu was demanding of her before she ended up in the awkward position of telling them how she had gotten pregnant or something.

She walked down the stairs and joined them at the table. Asuma placed down a plate of rice with fish baked into it in front of her.

"Arigato." She thanked him.

They sat around the table and started to eat in silence. Kakashi was the first to break it.

"How long?" He asked without looking up from his plate.

"One week." She answered, instinctively knowing what it was he was asking.

"The collar?" Asuma asked, a hint of suppressed anger in his voice.

"Shows he owns me." She answered, playing with her food more then eating it.

"Protection?" Kakashi asked.

"Just my pills so far, but he might be able to nullify those with his jutsu's. He is a medical specilist." She answered.

"The others?" Gai asked.

"Alara-sama wants Inoshi's line. Shizune-san seems to be in love with Kabuto-san. Anko has her protection, but we don't see her enough to keep her supplied and we have no doubt that, like Katsu-sama, Orochimaru-sama could work around it if he wants. Kenari-sama has no one claimed and we don't know anything about Yashero-sama. We haven't meet their lieutenants so we don't know who was claimed by them or what condition they are in." She answered.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Asuma asked after several more minutes of silence.

"I didn't know how you would react, rather you would do something stupid to get yourself killed or not." She admitted.

"A wise conclusion." Kakashi admitted.

"How is that wise?" Gai demanded in a shout, speaking for the first time.

If the shout upset Kakashi, he showed no signs of it.

"What would you have done had you found out?" Kakashi asked him.

"I would have…"

"Barged in and made the situation worse." Kakashi finished when he couldn't. "I was only joking when I said you should seduce him with your womanly charms." Kakashi stated lightly.

Even through his mask Kurenai could tell he was grinning. Suddenly the situation seemed so observed that she started to chuckle quietly to herself.

"Please don't cry, Kurenai." Gai shouted in alarm, thinking she was crying. "We don't think anything less of you. We know you're doing this for the sake of the spirited youth who look up to you for protection."

That was it. She burst into laughter, startling them all.

"I think she's lost it." Kakashi stated.

"Kurenai?" Asuma asked hesitantly, worry in his voice.

"This is just so absurd." She laughed. "This is no different from any other mission we have undertaken. I am turning into such a drama queen."

"I think we lost her boys." Kakashi stated.

"And here I was worrying you would do something stupid. You know, Katsu-sama actually told me today that with training I would be better."

"I would be willing to help." Kakashi stated.

The room fell silent.

"Is it too late to take that back?" Kakashi asked.

"I would start running." Asuma suggested.

"She's got the frying pan, run my eternal rival." Gai suddenly shouted as Kurenai leaped for the frying pan hanging from its hook.

Kakashi bolted into the living room; Kurenai followed him, frying pan waving in the air. Kakashi ran around the couch a few times, Kurenai hot on his tail before running for the kitchen to run around the table a few times before returning to the living room.

"Kurenai, please calm down. I meant it as a joke." Kakashi pleaded.

"I'll show you a joke." She shouted back.

"What a brilliant display of youthful spirit." Gai proclaimed.

Kurenai silenced that speech with a threatening wave of her frying pan as she and Kakashi bolted past him.

"This aught to be amusing for a while." Asuma grinned as he watched the spectacle.

No one was positive how long the two of them bolted around the room. But the chase ended when Geki returned home. Kakashi tried to turn on the brakes, but ended up bumping into their guard.

Everything would have been fine if Kurenai hadn't also been unable to stop. The three of them collapsed in a heap on the ground, the frying pan flying off to land on the couch.

"Owe." Kakashi complained.

"My head." Kurenai grumbled.

"Get off of me." Geki commanded.

To make matters worse, Katsu chose that moment to open the door. Everyone froze. He raised an eyebrow, walked over then, went up the stairs to grab something, walked back down them, stepped over everyone again, and left.

What was left of sanity went out the window. Even Geki joined them as they burst into laughter. Kurenai untangled herself first, than helped Kakashi up.

"I vote we forbid you from ever touching a frying pan again." Kakashi voted.

"And I vote we forbid you from opening your mouth." Kurenai countered.

They laughed harder. Kurenai recovered her frying pan and returned it to her hook.

"You going to finish your lunch, or can I?" Gai asked.

"Touch my lunch and you will feel the wrath of my frying pan." Kurenai threatened as she sat down at the table to finish her meal, not caring in the least that it was now cold. At least she could eat now.

"There is some left over." Asuma offered to Geki.

Geki joined them at the table. Kakashi dragged out the deck of cards and began to shuffle them.

"What game are we onto now?" Kakashi asked.

"Just pick one." Kurenai shrugged, having no idea what game the boys were on since she didn't get to play much.

"What are we going to play for?" Asuma asked.

"These." Geki offered, handing everyone on equal share of small, chocolate balls.

"Sound's good to me." Kurenai agreed between bites of her meal, setting her ten chocolate balls aside and picking up the hand Kakashi dealt her.

The rest of the day was spent gambling for chocolate and laughing at pathetic jokes and tales. It was the most relaxed she had been in ages, more so because now she was holding back no secrets from her fellow cell mates.

* * *

Well, there it is, most definitely not my best chapter. Actually I think it's one of my worse. The humour at the end makes up for the rest of it. Next chapter, Hinata and Naruto come together, Kenari catches up, and the start of a battle begins.

Right now Katsu is making full use of Kurenai, but he will mellow off. Just think of what it's like whenever you get a new toy. You play with it a lot at first until the novelty of it wears off and you play with it less. Since Katsu sees Kurenai as an object to be possessed, he will go through the same phases, so I assure you every chapter with them will not have the two of them in bed. I added that part into this chapter to show just how much she was starting to break under his demands.

BIG THANKS to dragonzair and Queen dopplepoppleous for reviewing the last chapter.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer; don't own Naruto

BIG THANKS TO DRAGONZAIR AND RUROUNIGOCHAN FOR REVIEWING LAST CHAPTER.

Chapter 18

Separation

They had traveled for a week with no problems thus far. The creatures of the forest they were able to avoid from advanced warning from Kiba and Akamaru's nose or Hinata's, Hanabi's, and Neji's byakugan.

The terrain changed the further south they went. The weather got warmer and bugs bigger than anything they had ever seen started to swarm them. Everyone but Shino anyway. The bugs left him alone.

Sakura and Hinata were able to mix some sort of bug repellent using a plant Shino suggested, the bugs told him they didn't like. It worked, but man did it smell. The darker it got, the more that showed up.

Fortunately none of them were poisonous, just annoying and their bites itched like hell. Everyone was back up to full health again and Sakura was even able to recover her chakra now that she had no one to heal.

The heat was getting so oppressive that the children had to rid the suna sleds to keep moving and their march turned more into a weary trudging. Why the bugs were so bad was made known to them that afternoon. The smell reached them first, then the actual sight of the fifty mile long swamp.

With the ground no longer safe to travel on, they took to the dead trees. Hinata, Hanabi and Neji reported that to go around the swamp would take days, so they had no choice but to go through it.

It reeked of decay, but it didn't look evil or anything. Akamaru had it hardest and in the end ended up riding the suna sleds. The trees were brittle and no few people got wet and reeked of swamp come evening.

Unfortunately, come evening, no sign of an end to the swamp was in sight. Neji was able to find a small island of solid ground that barley held everyone so they camped there. There was no dry wood for a fire, but the temperatures never got low enough to really demand it anymore.

It was hard to sleep when the smell of the swamp was so bad. Ino constantly complained about what the moist, smelly air was doing to her hair, if for nothing else then to try and get some light into people.

Akamaru barked in agreement with her, his once white fur now brown and reeking of swamp. All of them reeked as no one had avoided falling in at least four times, other then the children who had ridden Gaara's suna sleds. Even Gaara had fallen in at least four times before ridding one of his suna sleds.

"When we find the next clean source of water, I am going to take the bath of a life time." Temari groaned, scowling at the smell and state of her clothes and hair.

Her hair was down now. She had giving up keeping it up when the water kept ruining it. Shikamaru even had his hair down, having giving up like she had.

"Hai." He agreed.

Even he didn't like smelling like swamp and his hair had sticks and weeds stuck in it. Everyone's did.

"Hold still. I'll see what I can get out." Temari requested as she started to gingerly untangle the sticks from his hair.

The gentleness of it took him by surprise.

"There will just be more tomorrow." He pointed out.

"There will be less to take out when we get to the other side." She argued.

"You don't have to."

" I want to."

He decided not to argue. Besides, it was kind of nice to have her playing with his hair. She worked at it for quite a while; apologizing every time she pulled on it. When she was done, she brushed her hands off and gave a grunt of approval.

"Ah, arigato." He thanked.

"Your welcome." She smiled at him.

"Turn around." He requested.

"Nani?" she asked confused and shocked.

"I hate to repeat myself, it's troublesome." He stated.

She turned around and almost jumped in shock when she felt his hands start to untangle sticks and weeds from her hair.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Returning the favour. A man can't have a woman doing something for him, then not return the favour." He answered.

She should have seen that answer coming. A glance around showed that several of the others were also helping to untangle sticks from each other's hair. The only one who didn't have twigs was Genma, who used his forehead protector to cover his hair like a pirate.

"_Not a bad idea._" She thought.

Still, if she knew this was what it took to get Shikamaru's hands into her hair, she would have fallen in a few more times for good measure. She grinned as she spotted Hinata getting the sticks out of Naruto's hair. Sakura was sitting patiently as Lee got the sticks out of hers.

Several of the kids were helping Akamaru get the sticks out of his fur. Kankurou didn't have any in his hair since he wore his hood up. He was getting the few sticks lodged in Gaara's hair out and she suddenly envied those with short hair.

Tenten and Neji were working together, as were Choji and Ino. It seemed everyone was bending their pride to get the damn sticks out. Who knew a swamp had so many sticks in it?

"On the up side, whoever travels our path next won't get sticks in their hair." She commented.

She couldn't see it, but she knew Shikamaru had raised his eyebrow in a questioning why.

"Any sticks on that path must be here." She finished.

She knew he grinned. She could sense it.

"True." He admitted.

He finished getting the sticks out, than started to run his fingers through it to try and retain some order. She didn't protest, though she was surprised.

"Here." Ino offered him her hairbrush.

Both of them raised an eye at her.

"No good woman leaves home without one." She answered with a slight blush.

"Arigato." Temari thanked her.

Before she could take the brush, Shikamaru took it and started to brush out her hair for her. She was stunned, but didn't protest. He apologized every time he pulled it, but he could have pulled it all out and she wouldn't have cared.

It took over an hour to get all her tangles out and she didn't want to see how much hair he had pulled out. Still, the feel of the brush running through her hair had soothed and relaxed her until she found herself dozing.

She snapped out of it when he stopped. She was about to move, but his hands ran through her hair, stopping her.

"You have nice hair." He commented, then got up and returned to brush to Ino, thanking her for it again.

(break)

"One point for me." Ino cheered once Shikamaru had returned to Temari's side. "Counting the story telling, we are tied at three each."

"Damn." Naruto cursed.

"I will win." Ino proclaimed.

Hinata remained silent, not wanting to get caught up in the contest Ino and Naruto had going, even if it was amusing.

"Oi, Hinata-chan." Naruto called.

"Hai, Naruto-kun." She asked, feeling a blush coming on.

"I hate putting this bug repellent on. Can you help me?" He asked.

"Hai, Naruto-kun." She agreed happily, opening the jar of bug repellent and taking some on her hand.

Naruto held still as Hinata started to apply it his face. She was blushing deeply and he resisted the urge to grin. When she was done, he took the ointment from her hand.

"Yours is starting to ware off." He explained as he started to apply it to her.

She turned bright red as his hands smeared it on her face and neck.

"Naruto-kun." She whispered.

"Hai?" He asked. "There done." He said as he finished, then leaned in and laid a kiss on her forehead. "Arigato, Hinata-chan. If it wasn't for this, we would be walking red welts."

Hinata was the brightest red he had ever seen as she stammered a reply. Yep, she loved him, and he was sure he loved her.

She had never felt so flushed in her life, than Naruto kissed her.

"_He kissed me. Naruto-kun kissed me. He actually kissed me." Her thoughts whirled around._

She wanted to sing to the world; to jump up and down and wave her arms in joy. Naruto, the man she had admired since their childhood days, the man she pined over to say a kind word to her, the man she had dreamed of for years, had kissed her.

She had never felt so high in her life. Never had she experienced such joy since the day Naruto had said he liked girls like her. She had changed for him, tried to be strong for him.

But how brave had she gotten? Had she truly changed? He had kissed her. Did she have the daring to kiss him back?

She gathered her courage and moved to kiss his forehead in return. Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. Naruto moved at the last second. She missed his forehead, to land on his mouth.

For several seconds nothing happened, then she felt his arms encircle her, pulling her close. He didn't pull back. Instead, he returned the kiss.

Her world fell open at her feet. She felt like she was falling and flying all at the same time. Time seemed to stop. Then, he pulled back and her world returned. She hadn't wanted it to end.

"I love you, Hinata-chan." He whispered.

"Naruto-kun." She sighed, falling into his embrace and letting him hold her up.

"Do you love me?" He asked.

"My father…" She started

"Means nothing." He interrupted.

"Hai, I love you." She admitted quietly.

They smelt like swamp and bug repellent, but right now she was sure she could smell a spring day. She didn't want this moment to end.

"You two going to stand like that all night, or would you like something to eat?" Kiba asked, ruining the moment.

Hinata blushed, and only than noticed that almost everyone was watching them. She had never felt so horrified in her life.

"'bout time." Tenten stated.

"I get to be your best man, right Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"Of course. And Ino, Tenten, Sakura and Temari can be the flower girls." Naruto added.

The world could have ended at that moment and Hinata would not have cared.

Everyone laughed. She regained her courage and stepped to Naruto's side, but didn't remove her hand from his waist. She rested her head on his chest and marvelled at the sound of his heart beating, shocked to discover it was beating just as fast, if not faster then hers.

"_So, even Naruto-kun knows embarrassment and fear._" She marvelled.

Everything quieted down and they sat together to eat their rations. Now that everything was in the open, she felt more secure about sitting next to him, even leaning against him.

Her father was an obstacle she would face much later, after Konoha was free. She felt eyes watching her and turned to see Neji looking at them. She felt a small amount of fear, then shock when he gave her a slight nod of his head to indicate his approval.

She blushed and shot him a shy smile of thanks for his approval. She glanced at Hanabi, who was grinning at her before turning her attention back to Konohamaru. Those two had been growing close lately.

She knew their father would like that relationship. Konohamaru was the grandson of the late Hokage and of noble birth. It seemed the two of them were starting something that might turn into something.

With both her sister and cousin's approval, she felt better and braver. She nestled closer to Naruto. The night was clear, the stars were starting to shine, and she was in the embrace of the man she loved. For this night the world stood still for her and she planned on enjoying ever last breath of it.

(break)

"I like your hair."

The statement repeated in her mind non-stop. The only thing that registered was Naruto and Hinata's kiss and final admission of love. She felt it was long over due and she felt a flush of pleasure when Naruto stated she would be one of the flower girls.

Shikamaru had rejoined her side and both of them were lying down and looking at the stars, familiar yet different. She almost thought about putting her hair back up, but decided to leave it down. Hesitating, she asked the question on her mind.

"Do I look better with my hair up or down?" She asked.

"Down." He answered without hesitation. "It would look nice if it was all one length."

She made a mental note of it.

"What are you going to do when we free Konoha?" She asked.

He shrugged.

"What are your plans? What do you want out of life?" She asked.

"I want to marry a woman who is neither beautiful nor ugly. I want to have two children, first a daughter, then a son. I want to be paid normally and live a normal life. I would quit being a shinobi when my daughter got married and my son had a job. I would spend my days quietly, playing Shoji and Go, maybe take over the deer farm. I would die in my sleep before my wife." He answered.

There was silence for several minutes.

"Sounds nice, but I think it would be better if both died together in their sleep, embraced in each other's arms." She stated.

He glanced at her.

"What about you?"

"My goals?"

"Hai."

She was silent for several moments, before she decided to answer truthfully.

"I want to continue to grown in strength, to prove I can be as strong as any man. I would marry someone who loved me for me and didn't care about my heritage. I would have two children, the order of birth not important. My husband and I would love each other very much and challenge each other every day to stay sharp of mind, kind of like playing Go and Shoji I guess. I don't care what my husband looks like, only that he keeps my mind sharp and loves me. We would die together in our sleep, embraced in each others arms so those that found us would know that, even in death, we loved each other."

There was silence again.

"Sounds nice." He admitted.

"Hai, but things don't always work out the way you want. I would be willing to alter my image to fit something more to what the man I love would want." She admitted.

In truth, she was surprised by how close their ideal future was.

Both wanted two children. Both wanted a partner sharp of mind. Both didn't really care what the other looked like. Some things were different, but like she said. She would be willing to change for the man she loved.

They spent the night in silence, watching the stars spin by. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but she was surprised when she woke up the next morning, Shikamaru's jacket tucked around her to keep her warm.

(break)

It was a relief when they left the swamp at noon the next day. They were just leaving the swamp when Neji cursed out loud, having been bringing up the rear with Naruto and Gaara.

"What is it?" Naruto demanded.

"Kenari-san caught up to us." He answered. "And Yashero-san and one, no two, members of Akatsuki are with her."

"Tenten…" Naruto started.

"On it." She saluted as she ran forward to warn Shikamaru and Temari.

Naruto and Gaara looked over their shoulders but were unable to see anything yet. Akamaru suddenly started to bark from the front.

"Nani." Naruto cursed.

Gaara's suna suddenly burst to cover Gaara's left side, indicating an attack had been countered.

"Damn it." Naruto cursed as he spotted the man and threw several Kunai made from bone at the man.

The man deflected them with his own kunai, but in doing so failed to notice the ones thrown from Tenten on her way back from the front. Naruto barely had time to watch the man fall dead before he found himself face to face with another opponent.

They had been surrounded. He could only assume Kenari had caught up to them in the swamp sometime during the night and had moved past them to set this trap where she knew they would come out. The reek of the swamp covered their scent from Akamaru and Kiba and being buried in the ground hid them from the byakugan.

The line was already cut into many pieces. Gaara had rushed forward and shielded the terrified children before they were cut off. Naruto remained where he was with Tenten and Neji.

A wave of needles came at them, no doubt poisoned. Both of them jumped to the other side of Neji, who smirked before countering them.

"_Kaiten_." He shouted, whirling about and deflecting the needles.

A quick look around caused Naruto to curse. They had already been separated from the others and surrounded.

"Tenten, seven forty nine." Neji called.

"Hai." She answered, throwing a kunai of wood at the target.

A shout of pain showed she had hit, but they were being severely outnumbered and their weapons were second rate. They needed to meet up with everyone else.

Neji called several more locations at random and Tenten twirled in a circle throwing weapons of bone as she did so, hitting her targets, if not fatally, then at least enough to wound and slow them down. Naruto used what Kaze jutsu's he knew to keep some distance between them and the enemy.

The circle about them was tightening despite every ones efforts and Naruto could no longer see the rest of the party. They had been completely and utterly separated. He could only think of one trick to do.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Henge._" Naruto shouted.

Tenten was shocked as a hoard of clones appeared around them and a third of them turned into her and the other third into Neji.

"Run." Neji commanded, grabbing her hand and following whom he knew was the real Naruto by the hand signal Naruto had giving him. They had perfected this move with the six months of hunting Akatsuki after all.

She ran with him and Naruto, running to the left and following the swamp. Hopefully their opponents wouldn't guess which way they had run.

"What about catching up to the others?" She questions.

"Live now, worry later." Naruto answered, silently hoping Hinata would be all right now that he had finally told her he loved her.

He tossed the thought aside. Now was not the time for such distractions. He knew they would want her alive for her bloodline. Everyone knew of his love for her and he had no doubt she would be used as bait if caught.

(break)

The attack came so suddenly it was shocking. No sooner had the message gone out then they were bombarded. The line was divided into several sections. Ahead of her Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, Temari, and Sasuke were caught in one group. Behind her Genma, Choji, Shino, Lee and Kankurou were caught in another. Ino was caught by herself. There was only one thing she could do and she did it. Not a master of Taijutsu or offensive jutsu's and with no way to join up with either group, she ran.

For a moment it seemed like no one had followed her and she was about to turn about and help how she could, maybe use the _shintenshin_ to take an enemy over and attack from behind if she could find a safe place to hide her body, but a snarl alerted her at the last second and she ducked as one of Kenari's hounds made a flying snap at her, fangs just missing.

"You missed." Came the voice of a man from behind her.

A quick glance over her shoulder showed a man bearing Kenari's symbol and three more hounds.

"Bring her down alive. Alara-sama has offered a reward for her safe return of Yamanaka Ino." The man commanded.

The hounds snarled and she bolted again, taking to the trees in hope that the hounds would be unable to follow her. She was hoping for too much. These were Shinobi trained hounds. They took to the trees with ease.

She didn't bother in her current situation to try and figure out who this Alara-sama was nor why the woman would want her alive. Last she knew she wasn't wanted by anyone, apparently that had changed. All she cared about was getting away.

The hounds' snapped at her heals tirelessly. Ahead she could hear the sound of running water and she prayed it was a large river, like it sounded to be judging by the roar, and that the hounds would be unable to cross it.

One of them finally caught up to her. Ino yelped in shock as the weight bore down onto her back. She went tumbling down, twisting and thrashing in an attempt to dislodge the hound as she did so. She caught the fangs of the hound in her left arm and tried to force the mouth away from her vitals as they went tumbling down a steep incline, the sound of the river getting closer.

She finally managed to knock the mutt away from her, losing a good chunk of her arm while she was at it. This gave her just enough time to realize that she was heading for a cliff. She franticly scrabbled for anything she could grab while clutching her left arm to her chest.

Her lower body went over first, then her upper. Her right arm tangled in a set of roots and jerked her to a stop, dangling from the cliff over a roaring river hundreds of feet below her, sharp rocks showing in the white froth.

The hound she had been fighting with was but a speck below her. She closed her eyes in fear as she frantically tried to pull herself back up, but the roots she was tangled in were slowly tearing away from the cliff and her feet were swinging in open air with nothing to even grasp onto with chakra.

With her right arm tangled, all she could do was scramble with her injured left, and all that was doing was dislodging dirt and causing her to cry in pain. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching and right now she couldn't care less if it was the man who claimed some woman named Alara wanted her. She just didn't want to die.

She looked up, but nothing in the world could have prepared her for what she saw. Shocking black hair slicked back, and eyes red with a three-tiered Sharingan. It wasn't Sasuke.

She saw the light reflect off of a kunai and squeezed her eyes shut as it slashed down towards her.

(break)

Gaara was as calm as ever as he continued to walk forward with the terrified kids and Iruka. Most of the gennin were also with him and clenched weapons tightly in white fist. His suna completely surrounded them and the sounds of weapons and Jutsu's hitting it could be clearly heard.

"To the left a little more." Hanabi reported calmly, her byakugan acting as a third eye.

She was using it to get them closer to Genma's group. Naruto he trusted to deal with things on his own, but the rest of the gennin were his current concern, and they were ahead of them with Genma's group.

"Almost there." Hanabi reported.

Soon enough, he opened the front part of his shell and the rest of the gennin ran in to join them. They had caught up. Hanabi and Konohamaru, on the other hand, ran out to join the fight.

He didn't protest. He knew the two could handle themselves. Instead he continued to move forward to try and meet up with Temari and Shikamaru. A wall of earth arose between them cut them off. It was a rather long, tall wall to make matters more difficult.

He cursed inwards, but out wards remained no different. Without Hanabi to guide him, he had to use his third eye to see what was going on.

Sakura, Hinata, Genma, Kankurou, Hanabi, Lee, Choji, Shino and Konohamaru were using his suna shell as a backing and were fighting off hoards of needles and kunai, all of them poisoned no doubt.

Shino used his Kikai as both a shield and an offensive weapon. Hanabi was calling targets to Konohamaru. Kankurou was standing behind Hinata and using all three of his puppets summoned from his scrolls. Hinata was countering attacks with her _Kaiten_, granted it wasn't as strong as Neji's or Hanabi's but it got the job done.

Choji was just deflecting attacks with his own weapons, as was Genma. Sakura, however, was pounding her fist into the wall blocking their paths and putting large craters into it with each hit.

At the rate she was going, it wouldn't take long to punch through. Gaara was positive he didn't recall her being that strong. If she had been his suna would have been demolished when he had used it to pin her to a tree. He felt a wave of guilt for that, but brushed it aside. Now was not the time.

He spread his suna out to mesh with the wall and to cover their heads, just leaving the front were the fighters were standing open. This greatly relieved them from attacks coming from above.

Something pounded into his suna from above, something strong and it caused the roof to crack in half. He looked up in shock as the suna ceiling shattered and dissolved. Everyone covered their heads as the suna fell upon them like a blanket, the children screaming.

"_The same technique that countered it before._" He noted.

With the wall down, they stared at those surrounding them in apprehension as the circle tightened. Somehow that attack had drained all of the chakra from his Suna and he was unable to control it at the moment.

They backed into a circle, pinning the children to the wall of earth behind them. They were completely surrounded. Fighting would only delay the inevitable.

"_Tsuuga_." Came a shout.

Everyone turned in shock as three whirls of energy raced across the front lines of the enemy rank.

"_That was not Kiba._" Gaara noted.

Kiba was a lot of things, but he wasn't a she.

"_Must be his sister or another relative. Another group must have gotten out of Konoha and followed us._" He figured. "_Sasuke did say Hiashi-sama and Rin-san's groups had made it out._"

The enemy parted ranks under the sudden and unexpected assault.

"Run." Genma ordered.

No one argued as they bolted down the path the stranger had carved for them. The path started to close in, but the same whirls of energy came back, breaking it apart and causing general confusion.

They ran as a group. The three whirls of energy to the front and either side with Choji rolling between them. They were able to break free and get a good amount of distance between them and the enemy. The attack had left a lot of confusion behind.

They ran for several minutes until the children were unable to run any more. They stopped and the three whirls of energy burst out of their attack to reveal a woman who looked almost exactly like Kiba. The other two whirls also turned into her before poofing back into hounds the same size as Akamaru was. Both were a chestnut brown.

"Oi." The strange woman greeted them. "Quite the party you are throwing here."

"Who are you?" Genma asked.

"Names Tsume, Inuzuka Tsume. These are my partners Inuko and Inuka." She introduced. "Care to tell me who you are, why you are trespassing on these lands, and why those bastards who attacked us for no reason are after you?" She demanded.

"Inuzuka?" Hinata asked, clear shock in her voice.

(break)

Shikamaru hated to admit it, but they were in deep trouble. Surrounded, out numbered, and spread out, it was only a matter of time until they were worn out and brought down.

Temari stood back to back with him, fan raised and countering all attacks levelled at them. Kiba and Akamaru were spinning around with their _Gatsuuga_, managing to keep the enemy from completely closing ranks, but were taking bad damage for it. Sasuke fired off several differed Katon jutsu's, setting the forest on fire and giving them at least one side to back against.

It wouldn't last for long. All three of them were wanted alive, and Sasuke could plead he was acting as a spy for Orochimaru, but he didn't want to surrender. He sure as hell didn't want to be a slave to Orochimaru. He had heard enough twisted tales about the man to know he was better of dead.

He was sure Kiba would suffer a worse fate. His one impression of Yashero was not a pleasant one and he had a feeling Yashero was worse then Orochimaru. At least with Orochimaru if you obeyed him it was likely he wouldn't hurt you, Yashero seemed like the type to cause needles pain.

"We're pinned and out of luck, aren't we?" Kiba asked, having come out of his _Gatsuuga_ now that he was running low on chakra and had multiple cuts and scraps, not to mention a lot of needles sticking out of him at various angles.

"It's not looking good." Shikamaru admitted.

"Heh."

"Kiba." Temari gapped as Kiba collapsed, followed by Akamaru, the light green poison still visible on the multiple needles sticking out of their bodies. "There still breathing." Temari reported in relief a few seconds later.

"Doesn't matter. We are at our end anyway." Shikamaru commented.

The circle of enemies was closing on in them. He could use his _Kagemane_ to slow them down, but that would just be delaying the inevitable.

Temari lashed out with her fan, but one of them did a few seals and a wall of earth counted the attack. Temari cursed.

"Better dead then a slave." She commented calmly, pulling a kunai and aiming it at Kiba's throat.

A shout stopped her at the last second.

"_Kaiten_."

"That didn't sound like Hanabi or Hinata." Shikamaru frowned as most of the enemies in the back ranks went flying into multiple directions.

Several others started to scream and run for no reason any of them could see while others seemed to stare blankly into space, clearly caught in a genjutsu.

"I don't know what is going on, but I am not letting this opportunity pass." Temari vowed, throwing Kiba over her shoulder. "Shikamaru-kun, Sasuke, get Akamaru." She ordered.

Both boys picked up one end of the heavy inunin and followed Temari as she ran past the dazed enemy. They spotted the one who had used the _Kaiten_ first. Shikamaru was right. It wasn't Hinata or Hanabi, but her byakugan clearly gave her away as a member of the Hyuuga clan.

"_Must be one of their cousins. Sasuke had said others made it out. Maybe they followed us._" He figured.

The girl, who looked to be about their age, looked at them as they ran towards her. Standing next to her right side was a female wearing sunglasses and a long, green jacket that oddly reminded him of Shino. To her left stood a male who had black hair that ran to his waist and was in a state of orderly disorder and red eyes that reminded him of Kurenai for some reason. He was clearly concentrating on something and they had no doubt that this was the one using the Genjutsu.

"First, let's get out of here, then you can explain why you are on our lands and why these bastards, who attacked us without cause, are after you." The Hyuuga woman commanded with an air of one used to being listened to.

At this point he wasn't about to argue with their saviour. They followed their three rescuers through the forest at a very fast pace that was almost impossible to keep up with considering they were burdened with a very heavy Akamaru.

"I have friends spread throughout the forest. Have you seen them?" He asked.

"Ile. Tomeo, how far to Meiyo?" The Hyuuga woman demanded.

"Almost there Zihna." The girl who reminded him of Shino answered.

So the Hyuuga's name was Zihna and the green-jacketed girl's was Tomeo. Shikamaru made a note of it as they followed them towards someone named Meiyo, whom he was sure was the leader of this group.

* * *

Well, here is the start of the OC's, but most will be relegated to the background. So far they are;

Inuzuka Tsume; Her partners are Inuko(female) and Inuka(male). Both are full grown hounds and a chestnut in color.

Hyuuga Zhina; Like the rest of the Hyuuga family she wears white. She has the ying/yang symbol on her back. She wears white pants and a kimono like top.

Abrume Tomeo; she's the chick wearing similar clothes to Shino only in green and brown camo instead of white. Her Chuunin vest in under her jacket, which is left open in the front. Her under shirt is black.

Yuhi Genkaku; His name is revealed next chapter. Like Kurenai he has red eyes and a wild mane of black hair. He wears a simple black jumpsuit with his black Chuunin vest.

There are eleven OC's in total, not including their companions, but only a few take anything resembling the front light while the rest go to the background. The two that do take some of the center stage are introduced next chapter. I tried to give each of them their own personalities.

Next chapter, an end to most of the fighting. Who everyone is and what their relation to Konoha is will be revealed in chapter 20.

What do their names mean; Zhina; one who spins tops. Tomeo; cautious. Genkaku; Hallucination. Tsume, claw, talon, etc.

A note on Tsume's name. I know most people refer to Kiba's mother or Sister by this name. Personally, I have never seen any reference officially as to their names. Please remember that I wrote this back in June and I have no plans n changing anyone's names. Even if Kiba's mother's name is Tsume, it wont change anything, other then the fact that she shares Kiba's mother's name.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer; don't own Naruto.

Chapter 19

Meiyo

It had taken longer then expected to be here again, but Kurenai didn't care. A part of her, as always, was eager to see the kids, and a part of her feared it. They were using Yamanaka's blood again.

Katsu joined her side and finished the Jutsu. They watched the screen for several second until it came spinning into focus. Katsu quickly gained control and made it stop following Ino's shoulder.

Kurenai gapped, as did almost everyone else when the screen righted itself to show Ino rolling down a hill with one of Kenari's hounds latched onto her left arm.

"Looks like Kenari-san caught up." Alara all but squealed in delight.

"So it would seem." Katsu agreed.

Ino finally kicked the inu free, only to scramble desperately as she went tumbling over the cliff, her right arm tangled in roots and her left too injured to do any good. Kurenai glanced at Inoshi, noticing while outward he appeared to be as calm and collected as ever, his eyes betrayed the pain and fear he felt for his only child and his hands were clutched into fist, blood dripping from them.

Ino scrambled helplessly, the root holding her slowly giving way, than she stopped struggling. Katsu quickly moved the image from her shoulder to scroll up. The room was silent as the picture showed a boy about Ino's age, eyes red with the Sharingan.

The boy pulled a kunai. Ino shut her eyes. The kunai flew down and everyone held their breath as it cut through the vines binding Ino. But she didn't fall. The stranger grabbed her wounded arm and pulled her up, collapsing on his back from the effort causing her to land on his chest before rolling off of him.

Before the suspense could be cut, the sound of snapping fangs reached their ears. Another of Kenari's hounds made itself known. The stranger, pushed Ino aside and slashed out with the kunai, slitting the leaping hounds throat. He didn't stop there. Rolling over, he grabbed Ino around the waist and leaped up into a nearby tree, just in time to doge two more sets of snapping fangs.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_." Came the shout of the stranger as fire shot from his mouth to fry both hounds.

He grabbed Ino again and fell from the tree, narrowly avoiding the kunai that had been thrown at them. The stranger fired two Kunai back of his own and the sound of a sickening thud reached their ears from off screen.

Katsu quickly moved the screen around just in time to see one of Kenari's men collapse dead with two imbedded Kunai in his chest. For several seconds nothing happened and everyone started to breath again.

"What's a blue eyed blond doing all alone out here?" The stranger asked, turning to stare at Ino with a big grin on his face.

If there had been any doubt before, it was gone now. His eyes clearly were red with all three wheels of the Sharingan.

"Who the hell are you?" Ino demanded.

"I think I just saved your life." The teenager, for there was no doubt he was Ino's age, answered.

"You didn't answer my question." She countered.

"And you didn't answer mine."

They stared at each other in silence, than the baying of more of Kenari's hounds broke it.

"Sounds like they got our scent." The teenager commented. "We had better get out of here. I've never met someone so rude as to just up and attack someone without even an introduction before."

"They attacked you?" Ino question, climbing to her feet from where she had landed on her rear when he had pushed them out of the tree and still clutching her wounded arm.

"Hai."

Ino finished getting to her feet, than cried in pain and fell again, followed by a string of curses.

"What's wrong?" The stranger asked, coming up to her side.

"I must have twisted my ankle when I tumbled down the cliff." She cursed.

The teenager blinked at her, then turned around.

"Get on."

"Nani?"

"Get on. I'll carry you. Those hounds will be here any second and this isn't the best place to fight them off."

Ino glowered, but did climb onto his back.

"My name is Keiji. Yours?" He introduced as he bolted into the trees and started running.

"Ino." She answered. "You're an Uchiha aren't you?" She asked, confusion clearly in her voice as to how this could be.

"Breed, born, and raised." He admitted. "I haven't seen you around here before. What village are you from?"

"Konoha." She answered.

"Konoha huh. Never heard of it. Must be from far away. Hold on, Ino-chan, we got company."

A different sort of baying reached their ears.

"What was that?" Ino demanded, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Shit. I though we lost those damn things at the Jeriya river." Keiji cursed.

"What things?" Ino demanded.

"Ryouken no Jigoku." He answered solemnly.

"That's ridiculous. Are you telling me youkai hounds from hell are making that noise?" She demanded.

"Hai." He answered, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Looks like your enemies are attacking us and ours are about to attack you. Maybe if we are lucky they will attack each other."

"I don't think that's going to help much."

"Hmm, maybe not. We are almost to the lake that feeds that river you tried to take a swim in. Ryouken no Jigoku can't cross water nor tolerate water attacks. We will be safe once we get onto the lake." Keiji explained.

"How far is that?" Ino asked.

"Just ahead. You should be able to see the sun sparkling off of it."

Sure enough she could see the light sparkling through the trees before they burst into a clearing. Keiji didn't stop nor hesitate as he bolted onto the water, stopping a fair ways out.

"Think you can stand on your own if you lean against me?" He asked.

"Sure."

Keiji put Ino down and she rested against him.

"Good. I am going to need both hands for this."

The sound of unholy barking got closer until the first one burst through the trees and stopped at the bank, howling in fury. The creatures had black fur with all four paws wreathed in flames. Their eyes were like molten lava and steam streamed from their mouths. Four more joined it.

"What is that thing?" Ino demanded; fear most definitely in her voice now.

"Hunters of Jigoku. Ryouken no Jigoku are used by youkai to hunt their targets down. They are smart, fast, obedient, and damn hard to kill if you don't have a good source of water. They are immune to fire, but can't touch large amounts of water or it banishes them back to Jigoku." Keiji explained.

"So we are just going to stand out here all day until they get board and leave us alone?"

"As if. I am going to banish them, hopefully."

"Hopefully?"

"They are damn hard to hit."

Keiji started to form seals and Ino rested more weight on her one good ankle to give him better movement with his arms.

"_Suiton; suiryuudan no Jutsu._"

The head of a dragon appeared from the lake in front of them and fired shots of water at the hounds. The first hit and everyone gasped as it melted into smoke before disappearing. Another was hit and smoked, but didn't go down. The rest dodged and continued to dodge.

"Damn things are frigging fast." Keiji hissed.

"What now?" Ino asked.

The suiryuudan remained in front of them, but fired no more bullets.

"Now, we wait for a few seconds."

"Wait?" Ino demanded.

"Yep. Wait."

"And what are we waiting for?" Ino asked after several seconds of nothing happening.

"That." Keiji grinned. "Alright, lets try this again you damn mutts."

The suiryuudan fired four more shots. All hit as the hounds seemed to thrash against an invisible force and by the time they could move, it was too late.

"Good work Kageko." He shouted to the bank.

"That looked like the _Kagemane_." Ino gapped.

"You know it?" Keiji asked, clearly surprised.

Two more people appeared. A girl with short black hair tied up in a pony tale, and a boy with long, blond hair braided back. The boy was being carried by the girl and appeared to be unconscious.

The girl, who must have been Kageko, joined them on the water.

"Good timing." Keiji commented.

"I had hopped we had lost the damn things. Meiyo should be informed of this at once so she might better analyze our situation." Kageko commented.

"Knowing Meiyo, she probably already knows. Damn things just had to attack when we all decided to split up for a little recon huh. What's up with Kannon? Spying again?"

"And making me drag his useless corpse around. I should have left him." Kageko snarled in annoyance.

"Spying?" Ino asked.

Her question went unanswered as Kannon started to stir.

"About bloody time. Next time you use the _Shintenshin_, make someone else carry you." Kageko grumbled as she let him go, to splash into the water.

He came up spluttering and coughing, revealing eyes as blue as Ino's.

"What the hell was that for Kageko." He snapped as he pulled himself out of the water, now completely soaked.

"That was for making me carry your worthless hide around." Kageko snapped back.

"So you drop me in a lake?"

"I could have let the hounds eat you. I would have been doing the world a favour."

"A favour!"

"Oi, what did you learn Kannon?" Keiji asked.

He was ignored.

"Why did you have to choose that time to use that damn technique of yours when you knew we had enemies surrounding us."

"It was because of said enemies that I did it baka."

"Baka? Who can never win a game of checkers against a child?"

"Well excuse me for not having an overly large brain to match your overly large ego."

"Kannon, what did you learn?" Keiji tried again, and was ignored again. "Damn, all those two do is argue.

"Keiji, Kannon, Kageko." Came another shout.

Another person joined them, this time a girl who could have been Choji's twin sister had she been older.

"Oi, what's up?" Keiji greeted.

"Those two at it again?" The newcomer sighed as she joined them.

"Hai." Keiji groaned.

"Alright, leave it to me." The new girl smiled, flexed her fingers, than said a single sentence. "Kageko, Kannon, take it to bed already."

The effect was instantaneous. Both of them instantly shut up, a look of mortification on their faces.

"Finally." Keiji sighed.

"Take it to bed?" Ino asked scandalized.

"Works every time." The new girl commented with a grin.

"Kannon, what did you learn?" Keiji tried for the third time.

"Nothing much, other then this group is lead by a woman named Kenari-san and is after some kids from some place called Konoha or something. I had to cancel the technique when some blond short-haired baka tried to kill me."

"A pity he missed." Kageko commented.

"Don't even start." Keiji warned.

"Oi, who is she?" Kageko asked, pointing at Ino.

"This is Ino-chan. She's from the group from Konoha. Ino-chan, this is Kageko, Kannon, and Terea-chan." Keiji introduced.

"You used the _Kagemane no Jutsu_ on those hounds, didn't you?" Ino asked.

"Hai. How do you know it?' Kageko admitted and asked.

"Only Shikamaru-kun's family has ever been able to use it."

"Who?" Kageko asked. "Never heard of him."

"But you are from the Nara clan, right?" Ino demanded.

"Hai." Kageko admitted. "But how would you be familiar with my clan?"

Ino ignored the question and turned to the other two.

"You used the _Shintenshin_?"

"Yeah. What about it? Useful move when gathering information." Kannon shrugged it off.

"But to have that move, you would have to come from the Yamanaka clan."

"Yeah. So, you know my clan. What of it?" Kannon asked.

"And let me guess, Akimichi?" She asked Terea.

"She's good." Terea commented.

"Too good. How is it you know so much about our clans?" Kageko demanded.

"Interrogation is going to have to wait." Keiji interrupted, holding his hand up.

Now they were silent, they could hear the howling of a hound off in the far distance.

"Sound's like Inuko. Meiyo must be calling everyone in."

"Let's move." Keiji commanded. "Ino-chan, it is probably best if you remain with us for the time being. Climb up."

Ino looked about to protest, but did climb onto his back.

"You can walk this time." Kageko snorted to Kannon.

"Wouldn't want to burden you." Kannon scoffed back. "I am going to have to take a long bath to get your disgusting smell off of me."

All four of them, plus Ino on Keiji's back, set off towards the howling.

"You could do the world a favour and drown yourself while you are at it." Kageko offered.

"As if. That might actually make you happy or something. Then the world would end because you might actually smile for once or something."

"Do they hate each other?" Ino asked.

"Kannon and Kageko?" Keiji asked to clarify.

"Hai."

"Nah. They just live to drive each other insane. Comes from having been on the same team for years."

"Same team? With Terea?" She asked.

"Ile. Terea is too young, fresh Gennin. The poor bastard stuck with them is me." Keiji grinned. "Some days I wander if Seikage-sama doesn't hate me or something. You never gave us your family name." Keiji pointed out.

"Ah."

"I may not be as sharp as Kageko is, but since you look like you could be Kannon's twin sister, and you are familiar with the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi clans, I am guessing you're a Yamanaka. Am I right?" Keiji guessed.

"Hai. How did you know?"

"Generally, those three families have been on the same team for generations, thus they know the abilities of the others to a tee. I bet you could name off almost every move Kageko and Kannon can pull."

"Can Kannon do the _Shinrenshin_?" She asked hesitantly.

"Hai, but it only works on people."

"Why wouldn't it?" She asked confused.

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know. He is kind of odd that way, but Kannon can hit animals with most of his techniques to."

"Animals!"

"Hai. There was this one time when he used the _Shintenshin_ on a bird. Well, he of course didn't know how to fly and kind of fell out of the tree he had been perched in. And since birds don't have hands, he couldn't cancel the technique and had to get one of us to cancel it for him." Keiji laughed. "Course, Kageko made him suffer for his stupidity first."

Ino looked stunned.

"A bird?"

"Hai, good scouts birds. Of course he can fly now, but he got no few bumps and scraps along the way. See, eagle, falcons, raven, robins, they all fly differently and he had to learn anew for each bird. And he can cancel the technique without the use of his hands now." Keiji sighed. "You should have seen how hard it was to explain how he kept getting all those damn injures when we never left the safety of the damn house. Of course it paid off in the end. Birds are damn good spies."

"I would never had even thought of trying it on an animal." Ino admitted.

"Not many had. The problem is animals have a different build than we do. Kannon is amazing with his _Shintenshin_, but it took years to do it and there are very few other techniques he has. See, he devoted all of his attention on mastering it. This means he isn't very useful in combat, but damn there isn't a piece of information too guarded that he can't get it." Keiji finished.

"Oh."

There was silence other than Kannon and Kageko snipping at each other on and off. They left the lake and took to the trees.

The screen went dark, then cut off, the time limit having been met. Katsu didn't even hesitate as he took Nara's blood and painted it onto the mirror, giving Kurenai a chance to look at the others to see how well they had absorbed what they had seen. Everyone seemed to be in various states of shock.

"Conclusion?" Alara asked Katsu.

"Your guess is as good as mine right now Alara-san." Katsu admitted.

"Future, past, alternate universe." Alara offered.

"Ile, the mirror wouldn't work on those targets. We will just have to watch more and hope we learn something." Katsu answered, finishing up and returning to Kurenai's side.

The mirror shimmered, and then Shikamaru came into view with Temari and three others they didn't recognize.

"I have friends spread throughout the forest. Have you seen them?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ile. Tomeo, how far to Meiyo?" The girl in the lead demanded.

"Almost there Zihna." The girl who must have been Tomeo replied.

"Meiyo must be this groups leader." Alara commented.

"Clearly." Katsu agreed.

He moved the screen around and spotted Temari carrying Kiba and noted that Shikamaru and Sasuke were carrying Akamaru before letting it rest over Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Who is Meiyo?" Temari asked.

"Our commander." The last, un-named person commented.

"Perhaps an introduction is in order." Zihna stated from the lead.

"A good idea." Shikamaru agreed.

"My name is Hyuuga Zihna. These are my companion, Abrume Tomeo and Yuhi Genkaku."

Shikamaru blinked at the names in shock, but answered truthfully.

"Nara Shikamaru. This is Temari, Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba and his partner Akamaru. Thanks for your assistance back there."

"Your welcome. You are not from our village, so where are you from?"

"Most of us are from Konoha, but three are from Suna."

"Never heard of such places. You must be far from home."

"You could say that." Shikamaru commented.

"We are here." Tomeo spoke up.

"About time." Genkaku spoke for the first time, his voice rather soft.

A clearing came into view and in the center stood another girl about their age. She was facing towards them when they entered, her eyes white with the byakugan. A look of surprise crossed Shikamaru's face, but he quickly hid it.

Standing next to her was a woman who could have been Kiba's sister, two hounds laying next to her, both a dark chestnut in color. To everyone's surprise, Gaara and his group was already there.

"More of Konoha and Suna's citizens I assume." The one they guessed to be Meiyo stated calmly.

"Hai. What is our current situation Meiyo?" Zihna asked.

"We are waiting for the others to return. Inuko and Inuka have picked up the scent of the Ryouken no Jigoku. We will regroup and cross the river, heading back to camp with the last of our charges"

Katsu swung the screen around and noticed there were more children then those from Konoha in the group. He let it settle on Shikamaru once more.

"Tomeo, report." Meiyo ordered.

"Keiji, Kannon, Terea, and Kageko are on their way here, ETA about two minutes. Uzumaki, Nikuyaku, and Nori are moving away from us." Tomeo reported.

"Kikai." Shikamaru guess aloud.

"Uzumaki?" Temari whispered from off screen.

Meiyo turned to face him, but didn't say anything, instead turning her gaze to Shino, clearly putting two and two together. They waited in a tense silence for two minutes until Keiji arrived.

"Bringing strays in again Keiji-kun." Tomeo asked.

"Huh, at least I don't pick up every insect for miles around." Keiji countered. "Chiyu-chan."

A young girl with wavy blond hair no older than Hanabi or Konohamaru walked up to Keiji and Ino.

"Hai." She asked.

"She sprained her ankle and took a nasty bit from those damn mutts. Can you look at it?"

"Hai." The little girl turned her attention to Ino. "My name if Chiyu." She introduced herself.

"Ino."

"Pleased to meet you."

Chiyu removed Ino's sandal and preformed several seals before letting chakra flow from her hand into the wound. This continued for several seconds before Chiyu stopped.

"There, try it now."

Ino stood up and gingerly put weight on her foot, then blinked when she felt no pain.

"That's amazing." Ino gapped.

"It's nothing. Let me see your arm."

Ino sat down again and let Chiyu look at her arm.

Katsu swerved the picture around to Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru.

"Damn poison." Sakura was grumbling. "Hinata-chan, what have we got left for antidotes?"

"Not a lot." Hinata answered sadly.

"Can I help?"

Both girls looked up to stare at the timid boy who had spoken, and blinked, then blinked several more times.

On the other side of the mirror, everyone was blinking in shock at the small child on the screen. A boy, about Chiyu's age, who had straight black hair to his waist, pasty white skin, and slit, golden eyes. A red and black snake, about two and a half feet long, with a frill like some lizards had was sitting wrapped around his shoulder. The child was the spiting image of Orochimaru when he was younger.

"Can I help?" The boy asked again, hesitantly. "I know most poisons and I am sure I have an antidote for it."

"Ah, sure." Sakura stated after overcoming her shock.

The young boy kneeled next to Kiba and opened up a small case full of various vials. He removed one of the needles from Kiba, sniffed it, than held it to his snake to taste.

"Plant based?" He asked.

Sakura was about to answer, and nearly jumped, as did everyone else, when the snake answered.

"Hai. Basic sleep draught." The snake, which they now realized was a female, answered.

"Thought so."

The boy picked out a vial and handed it to Sakura.

"Give him that. It should negate all the poison in his body. Half a CC for every fifty pounds."

"Ah, hai. Who are you?" Sakura asked.

"Doku. My name is Doku. This is my partner, Dokutsume." He introduced.

"Haruna Sakura. This is Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and his partner Akamaru."

"He's got the same name as Tsume." Doku commented.

"Doku-kun?" Came a shout from off screen they recognized as Chiyu.

"Hai, Chiyu-chan?"

"I need an antiseptic for inu bites."

"Alright, Coming. Please excuse me." He bowed politely to them, the scurried off screen.

"He looks like a younger Orochimaru." Sakura commented once he was gone, then shook her head and looked at the vial Doku had giving them.

"Pullout a needle Hinata. Let's wake these two up."

"Can we trust it?" Hinata asked.

"Don't see any reason not to. I don't think they would rescue us just to kill us." She pointed out.

Katsu swung the screen around again to check on everything, then stopped when it faced Shikamaru and Temari.

Temari seemed to be thinking deeply as she stood next to Shikamaru.

"That's it." Temari suddenly snapped her fingers.

"Hum?" Shikamaru looked at her.

"Where is it?" She demanded as she dove for Shikamaru and started to root through his pockets.

"Oi Temari, what are you doing?" Shikamaru demanded, almost being knocked over as Temari dug through his pocket, a look of complete shock on his face.

"Where is it?" She repeated.

"Where's what?" Shikamaru demanded.

"The thing we found in the tunnels when we were running from Kenari-san. That chunk of medal. Ah ha, found it." Temari exclaimed as she pulled something out of Shikamaru's pocket.

Shikamaru was able to regain his balance now that Temari wasn't hanging off of him.

Katsu moved the screen so it was over their shoulders looking down.

Temari brushed off some lint from the piece of metal, than held it out so they could both look at it.

"Remember what Kyuubi said about some vouma being beating by his slaves and how he was defeated by the descendants of the warriors of Seika."

"Hai?" Shikamaru answered.

"Then that lizard in the forest we asked directions from said something about Seika as well. All along we had assumed that Seika was just the creatures way of saying the country of Fire, but how would a lizard here know of a country on another continent.

"Meiyo and her group clearly have the same line and family names as those of you from Konoha. And," Temari held the chunk of medal up, "the symbol on this former forehead protector we found in the caves where a massive group of children retreated from and fought Vouma-sama matches the symbol Meiyo and her group has on their forehead protectors." Temari finished.

Shikamaru blinked, then looked up to note Temari was right.

"Meiyo." Shikamaru called.

"Hai?" Meiyo answered, not even bothering to turn and face them.

"The village you are from wouldn't happen to be Seika would it?"

"Hai." Meiyo answered.

Katsu's jutsu died there. Alara cursed and demanded to know if he could redo it.

Kurenai glanced at Katsu and noticed he seemed short of breath.

"Ile." Katsu answered. "I don't have enough Chakra left."

"Shit. Things were getting very interesting to." Alara pouted. "We shall retry later than?"

"I will need time to rest. Two days in the least." Katsu stated.

"Darn. Ah well. We have much to think on. A lot was revealed today, to think there was another successor to the Sharingan out there." Alara thought aloud.

Kurenai thought back to all she had heard. A group of children on another continent that had the same family names and abilities as those in Konoha existed. Temari's statement about talking to Kyuubi disturbed her, and she had no doubt it disturbed the others to.

If everything Temari stated was true, then that would mean that somehow the citizens of Konoha had been split into two groups and divided by the eastern ocean. She tried to recall anything to indicate as such in history, but the furthest back things went was the great Shinobi war about a hundred years ago. Konoha had been built after it.

"I have used too much chakra. Please excuse me Alara-san, but I need to rest." Katsu stated, braking Kurenai's thoughts.

"Of course. Would you like me to carry you back to your room?" Alara offered, though something in her voice was hinting at more.

Katsu seemed to think on the offer, than smiled.

"Very well. Our charges?"

"They can stay here. I don't think one night from home will kill them." Alara waved the concern away.

"Indeed."

Beside her Katsu stood up, stretched, then leaned on Alara for support as the two of them and the two other guards left, leaving the seven prisoners alone for the first time since their capture.

At once all seven of them turned to face each other. They had much to discus after what they saw today.

* * *

Well, we have four more OC's.

Yamanka Kannon

Nara Kageko

Uchiha Keiji

Akimichi Terea.

Only Kannon and Keiji will stay up front with Kageko taking a supportive role. Kannon, Keiji, and Ino will be in Ino's POV's with Kageko playing support. Terea we wont see again. I tried to make Keiji as different from Sasuke as I could.

I noticed there seems to be some confusion as to what is going on, although I thought it was clear. Ino and Tenten had talked about being on a different continent when they got out of the cave. Katsu stated his jutsu would not work on alternate universes. I dropped lots of clues as to who these OC's were and I must say I am surprised no one figured it out, or if they did they haven't come forward to admit it. Well, next chapter will have Meiyo in it and she will explain what's going on.

Please let me know what you think of Kannon and Keiji as they will stay in the front with Ino.

Thank you my precious reviewers. Only getting four a chapter is very depressing and almost makes me wonder if I should bother to finish writing this, or posting it for that mater.

Special thanks to dragonzair for diligently reviewing every chapter and to LilHaruka for letting me know the facts of how my story in coming across.

Numba1. I agree. I know stories that are pathetic next to this one that has triple the reviews, mostly ones that have Sasuke/Naruto. Maybe I should put that on my Summery. The question isn't how long the OC's have been on this continent, but how long the families of Konoha have been on there's.

Steampunk pirate. I have had my own runs of insomnia when it comes to discovering a new story. Thanks for reviewing it all at one.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer; don't own Naruto.

Chapter 20

The Descendants of Seika

Temari frowned as she stared at Meiyo. Something was bothering her, but she couldn't place it. It wasn't that Meiyo and her crew seemed to be the cousins of Shikamaru and his friends from Konoha, though that was startling on its own. All right, maybe that had something to do with it, but there was something else that was bothering her about them.

She blinked when it hit her.

"That's it." She suddenly snapped her fingers, finally figuring out what had been bothering her.

"Hum?" Shikamaru looked at her.

"Where is it?" She demanded as she dove for Shikamaru and started to root through his pockets, looking for the last piece of the puzzle.

"Oi Temari, what are you doing?" Shikamaru demanded, almost being knocked over as she dug through his pocket, a look of complete shock on his face.

She ignored him, continuing to root through his pocket, knowing he still had it.

"Where is it?" She grumbled.

"Where's what?" Shikamaru demanded, grabbing a hold of her and taking a step back to keep from being knocked down.

"The thing we found in the tunnels when we were running from Kenari-san. That chunk of medal. Ah ha, found it." Temari exclaimed as she pulled it out of Shikamaru's pocket.

Temari brushed off some lint from the piece of metal, then held it out so they could both look at it.

"Remember what Kyuubi said about some Vouma being beating by his slaves and how he was defeated by the descendants of the warriors of Seika." She started.

"Hai?" Shikamaru answered, clearly still confused.

"Then that lizard in the forest we asked directions from said something about Seika as well. All along we had assumed that Seika was just the creatures way of saying the country of Fire, but how would a lizard here know of a country on another continent.

"Meiyo and her group clearly have the same line and family names as those of you from Konoha. And," Temari held the chunk of medal up, "the symbol on this former forehead protector we found in the caves where a massive group of children retreated from and fought Vouma-sama matches the symbol Meiyo and her group has on their forehead protectors." Temari finished.

Shikamaru blinked, then looked up to note she was right.

"Meiyo." Shikamaru called.

"Hai?" Meiyo answered, not even bothering to turn and face them.

"The village you are from wouldn't happen to be Seika would it?"

"Hai." Meiyo answered.

The shock they both felt struck them to the core. Genma, Gaara and Kankurou were just as stunned while the others who were paying attention just looked at them in confusion.

"Tomeo, is Uzumaki's group still moving away from us?" Meiyo asked, preventing either her or Shikamaru from asking more questions for the moment.

"Hai. And fast to." Tomeo reported.

"Plans?" Zihna asked.

"Keiji, Tomeo, Tsume, Kannon, you're with me. Everyone else continue onwards." Meiyo commanded without hesitation, then turned her attention to them.

"Naruto, Neji, and Tenten seem to be moving in that direction as well." Shino reported calmly.

Temari looked at Shino in surprise.

"You bugged them?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sakura asked me to on our first day on the road." Shino answered.

"Why didn't we think of that?" Temari sighed.

Shikamaru grinned. "Good work Shino. Meiyo-san, might a few of us come with you and the rest of us stick with your group for now? As you have guessed, we are not from around here." He requested.

"Very well. I have many questions I would like answered. Choose a few others and come."

"Right. Temari, Genma-san, Sakura, and Gaara-sama." He chose quickly. "Everyone else go with Meiyo-san's group."

"Shino, if we aren't back by tonight, came looking for us if you deem it safe enough." Temari ordered.

"Hai."

It was a show of trust that Shino would accept her order without question or comment. After all as a shinobi of Suna she had no right to command a shinobi of Konoha.

Tomeo took the lead and they headed back in the direction they had originally come from and to the east a bit. Tsume and her two partners were next to Tomeo, noses to the air. Meiyo ran at the back, byakugan activated, next to Gaara and Genma. Kannon, Keiji, Temari, Sakura and Shikamaru ran in the middle of the formation.

"You are from the Hyuuga clan?" Temari asked Meiyo as they ran.

"My father is Hyuuga Nariken." Meiyo answered. "I am sorry if I seemed rather abrupt back there. When the life of my team is at stake I can not afford to think or act as anything other then the commander I am. We weren't expecting that group following you to be here, let alone to attack us as well. I take it you are in some sort of trouble?"

Temari and Shikamaru shared a look. She nodded her head slightly to indicate she thought it was all right to tell Meiyo about their situation.

"That is correct." Shikamaru answered. "Our village has been overrun and we have been on the run for a month now. During our flight we found a cave system and went through it, but our enemies caught up and we were forced off course. We went through a portal of some sort that came out further north and have continued to run until we met you guys." Shikamaru started.

"In the caves we found the bones of children and this." Temari continued, falling back a bit to hand Meiyo the chunk of metal. "The place looked old and when we asked someone of… more experience, he said that place reeked of someone named Vouma-sama. He also mentioned something about being defeated by the descendants of Seika. We know the shinobi of Konoha defeated our source of information, but Konoha is in the country of Fire so we didn't think too much on it.

"The symbol is the same as the one of your forehead protector so we guessed that you must be from this Seika that had been mention. You families also happen to be the same as those from Konoha." Temari finished.

"The lost ones." Meiyo all but gapped at her.

"Lost ones?" Genma asked.

"Hai. About one hundred and fifty years ago a great Kurofushichou named Vouma-sama repeatedly attacked Seika until our village's ally, the great Ryuukami-sama chased him off. In the wake of the attacks, many were missing and dead. Amongst the missing were the children from some of the noble clans, such as Hyuuga, Uchicha, Yuhi, Inuzuka and others, including some of the not so noble, but strong, clans like Yamanaka, Nara, Hatake, and Abrume to name a few.

"In the aftermath of the attacks, Seika had been all but razed to the ground and we had to rebuild almost from scratch. Our village is said to be the strongest and we have many enemies because of it. It would have been foolish not to take advantage of our weakness so attacks were constant. Fortunately, Ryuukami-sama stayed and helped defend the village with the help of Kituki-sama."

"You village is allied with a ryuukami?" Temari asked in shock.

"Hai. We don't see her often, and when she does appear it is in the form of a human woman. She prefers to fight in her human form and no one had ever seen her ryuu form, but it is said to be as large as a mountain. She has shown up in Seika history for over a thousand years."

"I would be interested to hear more about Ryuukami-sama, but right now I am more interested in Vouma-sama. You said he took many of the children from Seika during his raids until Ryuukami-sama chassed him off. What did he do after that?" Shikamaru asked.

"He retreated back to his empire, which included a large chunk of the western ocean. About one hundred years ago he disappeared and his empire collapsed. Of course we attacked in hopes we would find the slaves he had taken and to destroy his forces forever, but we were unable to find any trace of our lost family members, thus we have dubbed them the lost ones." Meiyo finished.

"Konoha was formed after the great Shinobi war about one hundred years ago. Any history our village has before that is a mystery." Sakura stated.

"We are almost there." Tsume and Tomeo stated together.

"I can smell blood and lots of unfamiliar scents." Tsume reported.

"How many enemies do you figure?"

"Hard to tell. There is too much blood in the air and it is impossible to know who it belongs to." Inuko, the female inu, stated.

Temari almost jumped when the inunin spoke. She knew inunin could learn to speak, but Akamaru hadn't yet and it took her by surprise that this one could.

"I doesn't sound like there is any fighting going on." Inuka, the male inu, commented.

"What do you want us to do Meiyo?" Tomeo asked.

"Move in carefully and keep your noses to the air for traps." She commanded.

"Hai." All four of them confirmed.

"I suggest we move quietly from now on." Meiyo stated.

"I agree." Shikamaru agreed.

Silence reined until it was interrupted by loud laughter.

"Naruto." Temari sighed in exasperation, recognizing one of the two voices.

"Uzumaki." Meiyo sighed.

"Let me guess. Uzumaki has shocking blond hair, blue eyes, whiskers on his cheeks, and the brain of a baka?" Sakura asked.

"Close. His eyes are red and slit, but the rest fits." Keiji laughed.

They came into a clearing and stopped. Naruto and who could have been his twin brother were rolling on the ground laughing. Tenten had a look of pure shock on her face. One of the Seika kids was sighing in exasperation.

Then there was Neji, who had a look of horror on his face as some girl with white hair was hanging off of his shoulder and smiling up at him with one hand tangled into his hair.

Temari wasn't sure if she should be scandalized or if she should burst into laughter at the absurd sight. She had never seen Neji so unhinged before, granted she had never see a woman hang off of him either.

(break)

They ran along the swamp edge and didn't stop for nothing. Neji let go of Tenten's hand once she was able to discern who she was suppose to follow, allowing both of them to run easier.

Naruto ran in the lead, nose in the air and eyes red, indicating he had accessed Kyuubi's abilities to help them. It still unnerved Neji every time he saw it. They were hopelessly separated from the others now, but at lest they weren't surrounded anymore.

"Naruto, Neji, slow down a little." Tenten begged some time later.

Both boys came to a halt. Tenten panted for breath and even Neji was breathing deeply. Naruto, of course, was fine.

"I hate this swamp. I can't smell anything over it." he growled in frustration. "Neji, Byakugan." He ordered.

"Hai." Neji activated his byakugan.

"Damn. We didn't lose them. Tenten, seven-forty three, nine eighteen, one forty two, three ten, one thirty four…"

Tenten whirled as Neji started to throw out various target for her. Neji himself drew a kunai and started to deflect those coming at him.

"Enough of this." Naruto snarled as he bit his thumb. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu._" He shouted.

A fair sized, green and yellow toad with two swords strapped to its back appeared. The toad grabbed its katanas and leaped into the fray.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._" Naruto added, creating only ten clones this time as even he was running low on chakra. "_Kuchiyose._" He pulled his small fan and waved it in one direction, countering the wave of shirukens coming towards them.

"Naruto, we are completely surrounded." Neji reported. "And very outnumbered."

"Shit." Naruto cursed.

The three of them fell back to back. Off to the side the frog Naruto had summoned disappeared in a blast of clouds as someone managed to either defeat it or unsummon it. The ring of enemies moved in, completely surrounding them.

Unable to maintain it any longer, Neji dropped the byakugan.

"Well guys, this isn't looking good." Naruto stated.

"Surrender peacefully and we will bring you back in one piece." One woman stated.

"Didn't we already tell you we would sooner die then be slaves?" Naruto asked.

They stared at each other in silence for several seconds.

"Bring them down." The woman ordered.

All three of them tightened their stances as the ring of enemies drew various kunai and needles, all of them dripping with poison.

"You know, outnumbering people is rude." Came a male voice from off to the side.

"Nani?" Almost everyone gapped as they turned to see another boy who looked just like Naruto.

"_Kage Bunshin_?" Tenten asked.

"Ile, that's not me." Naruto denied.

"Picking on a small group with such a large gang like that is cruel you know." Came another voice, this one female.

Another one appeared from off to the side, white hair spiky on the top and long in the back, completely unrestrained.

"Hump." Another one appeared, this one a man who could have been Kakashi when he was younger if you took the mask off. "I see you both failed to remember the fact that as Shinobi we are suppose to quietly sneak up and dispose of our targets." The newcomer lectured.

"Oh give it a rest Nori-kun. This is more fun." The woman chirped.

"And more dramatic." The blond added.

"And everyone knows you seriously need to get laid." The woman finished.

"I would thank you to keep your thoughts to yourself, Nikuyaku." Nori replied.

"He's such a stuck up." Nikuyaku sighed. "You like me, right Uzumaki-kun?"

The blond haired boy shrugged. "That depends on what mood you're in."

"Humph. You're both no fun." She grunted.

"Oi, have you two forgotten why we are here, or did you make us follow these bastard for miles and reveal ourselves just for a debate." Nori demanded.

"Damn Nori, pull the stick out of your ass already." Uzumaki snorted.

"Baka." Nori grunted.

"Right. I suggested you get off of our lands and all that other political crap boarder guards are suppose to say. Never could remember all of it." Uzumaki said, pointing his finger at the woman who had spoken.

"They are just under sized kids." One of the men snorted.

"That's it, he's dead." Nikuyaku stated, rushing forward.

"So dead." Uzumaki agreed, also rushing forward and forming hand seals as he did so.

"Bakas." Nori cried, drawing twin blades from his back and also rushing forward.

"_Kuchiyose_." Naruto shouted now that their foes were distracted with the new comers.

Tenten pulled out two scrolls and threw them into the air before leaping up and drawing weapons from them, throwing each one as it appeared in her hand. Neji activated his byakugan once again and rushed towards the nearest target, palms striking out in the _jyuuken_ style taijutsu and moving amongst the confused enemies.

Uzumaki finished his seals halfway to his target. "_Katon; Ryuuka no jutsu._" He shouted.

A stream of fire in the shape of a dragon shot from his mouth to incinerate those standing before him.

"_Kanashibari no Jutsu._" Nikuyaku shouted.

Several of the people before her froze as her technique hit.

Neji was stunned that she would know such a high-powered move generally only known to ANBU, but concentrated on his own fighting instead. His byakugan was blurry, indicating just how exhausted he was.

Tenten's weapons still hit, but they hit less vital spots with each throw. Naruto seemed to be the only one not running low on chakra, but that was because he was into Kyuubi's. Neji could see the outline of Kyuubi surrounding Naruto in a blinding red chakra, four chakra tails whipping behind him and ears laid back in a snarled rage.

"Retreat." Came the shout from the woman who seemed to be in charge.

They enemy retreated, leaving them alone. Exhausted, he dropped the Byakugan and almost fell to the ground, but the one named Nikuyaku caught him and supported him.

"Arigato." He thanked.

"What's your name?" She asked sweetly.

He was about to answer when he noticed her hand was groping his rear. For several seconds he could do nothing but stand there in shock.

"Hmm, well built." She purred. "And such soft hair to. What kind of conditioner do you use?"

He was too shocked to reply.

"Oi, Niku-chan, knock it off before the poor boy has a heart attack you hentai." Uzumaki called as he and Nori joined them.

"You know, I've groped a lot of boys in my life, but damn I haven't met one with ASSets like yours."

"Is she for real?" Naruto asked.

"Niku-chan has a thing for groping anything with long hair and a tight ass. I swear half of us can't take a bath without her spying on us." Uzumaki sighed.

"She's like a female ero-sennin." Naruto stated.

"She will be at the rate she's going." Uzumaki sighed. "By the way, I am Uzumaki, that hentai on your friend is Nikuyaku, Niku for short. The one with a stick shoved up his rear is Hatake Nori. You?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. This is Tenten and your friend is molesting Hyuuga Neji." Naruto introduced them.

"A Hyuuga huh. Guess that mean you got a stick wedge up your rear too huh?" Niku chuckled. "Only one way to find out." She purred as her hands went for his pants.

"Ah." Neji screamed, slapping her hand away.

Uzumaki and Naruto shared a look, than burst into howling laughter. Tenten looked scandalized and Nori scowled.

"Oi, Meiyo-chan." Uzumaki called as the others arrived.

"Temari-chan, Shikamaru-kun." Naruto greeted. "You're missing one hell of a show."

"Nikuyaku, you have ten seconds to let the boy go before I break your arm again." Meiyo threatened.

"Sheesh, can't a girl have a little fun." Niku complained, but she did let him go.

"Woah, Neji's blushing. I wish Hinata-chan could be here to see this." Naruto laughed.

Neji meticulously straightened his clothes, than inched away from Niku and returned to Tenten's side, slightly hiding behind her.

"Looks like everyone is together again. Let's get out of here. It is another week's travel to Sanctuary. Those bastard will be back soon and it is only a mater of time until our own hunters catch up." Meiyo commanded.

As if to herald her choice, demonic baying arose from the east. Everyone looked in that direction, frozen for a moment.

"Let's move." Meiyo snapped.

No one protested as Meiyo took the lead with Tsume and Tomeo. Neji, Gaara, Naruto and Uzumaki took the rear. The others spread out between them.

"So is Uzumaki your family name or your giving name?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Both. My father is Uzumaki Maro and my mother is Hyurena-sama."

"You don't smell human, neither does that girl with the inu." Naruto commented.

"Well neither do you or the red head." Uzumaki countered. "You aren't human either."

"Ile. I have a youkai sealed in me." Naruto admitted hesitantly.

"Oh, what kind?"

"Kitsune." He admitted.

Uzumaki laughed.

"That's damn funny. You see, my mother is a kitsune."

"Your mother is a kitsune?" Naruto asked. "How is that possible?"

"What's so surprising about it? You act like your village doesn't have alliances with the local taiyoukai." Uzumaki truly did seem surprised.

"There aren't many youkai around our villages, and those that are often attack." Naruto answered.

"Really? There are lots of youkai around here. Often human lands and youkai lands cross each other's boarders. We respect the local taiyoukai and stay out of their business, as such they stay out of ours, but sometime business cross so it's best to have local treaties with them." Uzumaki explained.

Naruto was stunned.

"Less talk. More speed." Meiyo barked from her place in the lead.

The sound of baying rose up again, and this time it was closer.

"Where are we headed?" Shikamaru asked.

"To the nearest river. Tomeo?"

"They are already across and moving on." Tomeo reported.

"Good. We should catch up soon. The problem with traveling with so many children is that it slows you down." She sighed.

"We told you why we are on the run, but it seems like you are also running from something." Temari stated.

"Hai. Our village is in danger of a youkai invasion. This is the last group of children to get out. We have a safe house set up, it's just a matter of getting there."

"Your village is under siege?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ile. Not yet. The front lines are several miles away, but the threat is enough that Seikage-sama ordered us to take the children to safety." Meiyo answered.

"The youkai aren't even after our village, we just happen to be in the line of fire." Tsume added. "Our parents, family, friends, are all on the field trying to hold the tide back. Our mission is to protect the future of Seika."

"It is a mission we can not afford to fail." Meiyo finished.

"Oi, didn't you say less talk and more running?" Niku pointed out.

No one answered, but they picked up their pace and saved their breath for running. The sound of the hounds got closer until those in the back were positive that if they looked over their shoulder they would see them.

The sound of a roaring river hit their ears. They busted out onto the bank and across the water, stopping on the other side to look back. For a minute nothing appeared, then ten of the black hounds showed up, snarling their anger and rage.

"Kuroinuko." Temari gapped.

"You have seen them before?" Shikamaru asked.

"There are a few packs that run to the north of Suna." She admitted. "They stick to the mountains up there and don't travel further then them. They are un-killable."

"Ile, just damn hard to kill." Keiji corrected. "The right amount of water will banish them back to their own home. The problem is hitting them. They also can't cross water."

"Is their any chance they will attack Kenari-san's hunters?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not likely. They are very intelligent and very obedient. They will ignore this Kenari you speak of unless if she attacks them first. They only attack those they have been set after and have the scent of or those that attack them." Tsume explained.

"Let's move. Tomeo, how close to the others?" Meiyo asked.

"Not far now. Another hour of travel at the most. Zihna is moving them fast." Tomeo reported

"Very well. Let's keep moving. Those damn mutts may not cross the river, but it is only a matter of time until your human pursuers do or the youkai controlling them forges a way across for them. I would like to get as much distance between us as possible." Meiyo ordered.

"Hai. Let's go." Shikamaru agreed.

They set out again, leaving the snarling hounds behind them. They didn't catch up to the others until night. Zihna had found a small gully and they set camp there. Every thing was ready and food prepared by the time they arrived.

All of them could have worshipped those from Seika as they actually had provision on them, meaning for once they didn't have to eat meat and berries scrambled from the forest.

(break)

Sakura sat next to Lee and observed their new allies. She wasn't as good at problem solving as Shikamaru and Temari, but she wasn't as bad as Naruto or Lee. She agreed with the theory Meiyo, Shikamaru and Temari had come up with.

When that worked out, it meant that she was staring at everyone's distant cousin. She amused herself matching who was related with whom.

Meiyo and Zihna were clearly of the Hyuuga clan, making them cousins to Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi. Uzumaki and Naruto looked like twins, no challenge there. She wondered what Naruto thought knowing he had family, if somewhat distant. Kannon and Ino looked like brother and sister, if not twins. Kageko she wasn't sure of. Ino said she was a Nara but her attitude was as different from Shikamaru's as night was to day.

Tsume and Kiba might have been brother and sister they looked so much alike. Nori looked like Kakashi when he was younger, before he acquired the Sharingan. Keiji was clearly related to Sasuke, although unlike Sasuke Keiji let his hair grow out in the back, and she wondered what he thought now that he had met, not only another with the full Sharingan, but another relative when he had thought he was the last.

Doku was clearly related to Orochimaru, but like Kageko and Keiji, his attitude was completely different. Little Chiyu almost reminded her of a younger, less violent Tsunade, though Sakura admitted anyone would go violent dealing with Jiraiya on his or her team. Genkaku was harder to place until she realized that the name, red eyes, and wild mane of black hair was Kurenai-sensei's. Tomeo clearly belonged with Shino, the Kikai gave her away, as well as the long jacket and glasses. They were like Naruto and Kiba to Uzumaki and Tsume, almost twins in attitude.

Nikuyaku was so related to Jiraiya it was scary, right down to the lecherous tendencies, only for men instead of girls considering she was a girl. Niku was actually worse then Jiraiya and Sakura had never though she would see the day that would occur.

She was a little upset to see no one seemed to be from her family, but that could just be because like Choji's cousin, her relatives were too old, too young, or just already at the safe house.

The teams also surprised her. They were similar and yet different from the ones from Konoha.

Yuhi Genkaku, Inuzuka Tsume, and Meiyo

Kiba and Hinata had been on the same team so it sort of made sense to her since Meiyo clearly was of Hyuuga decent; her Byakugan gave that away. Kurenai was their teacher as well. Out of all the teams, that one fit the tightest.

Yamanaka Kannon, Nara Kageko, and Uchiha Keiji.

Ino and Shikamaru had been on the same team, so it also made some sense to her. Keiji was the wild card in the team.

Uzumaki, Hyuuga Zihna, and Aburame Tomeo.

That one just confused the hell out of her and she didn't bother to try and decode that one, though Naruto and Hinata was definitely an item to be discussed at the next gossip group.

Hatake Nori, Nikuyaku and Umino Urika.

That one also made no sense. She was shocked to see Iruka-sensei's little cousin. She didn't seem to have much talent while Nori showed as much talent as Kakashi had. Nikuyaku just scared her.

All four teams were the same age. Apparently Seika had a much larger population so more teams graduated.

She turned her attention to Doku and Chiyu. They were sitting together and working on some herbs that Sakura didn't recognize. Those two hadn't left each other's side once. The bright red snake with the frill, Dokutsume she thought it was called, was resting on Doku's shoulder.

Everyone once in a while Doku would stop what he was doing to scratch her head, Chiyu would also scratch her, then return to what they were doing.

Sakura grasped the vial Doku had giving them to use on Kiba and Akamaru, which had worked instantly, and walked up to them. Hinata hesitated, but then followed her, clearly interested in what they were doing as well.

"Hi." Sakura greeted warmly.

"Hi." Both children smiled up at her.

"Arigato, Doku-kun. The antidote work really good." Sakura smiled as she sat next to them and handed the vial back.

"Your welcome, Sakura-san." Doku smiled as he took the vial back and placed it in his briefcase of vials.

"What are you working on?" Sakura asked.

"Doku-kun and I are making more antidotes for that poison. We think we might need more soon." Chiyu answered.

"You were pretty amazing at healing Ino-chan's ankle. Your parents must be proud of you." Sakura commented.

Chiyu's face fell and Sakura knew she had said something wrong.

"What is it?" Hinata asked softly.

"Nothing." Chiyu denied, a bright smile on her face again.

Both of them decided not to push the issue.

"What herb is this?" Hinata asked.

"Featherfluff." Doku answered. "It's really common in swamps so we made sure to pick lots when we went through it. You have to peal all of the fluff of and boil it in one cup of water for every ounce of fluff. When the fluff completely dissolves, you have to add the stems and let it boil for five minutes before removing the stems."

"I see. And that is what we used on Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Ile. That was something stronger." Doku corrected. "That was bluefoot. It only grows in the mountain and is very rare."

"Why didn't you give us the featherfluff than?" Sakura asked, shocked he had handed them something so valuable.

"Bluefoot works a lot faster. Featherfluff takes ten minutes." Chiyu answered as Doku was distracted by counting roots into the boiling pot sitting on a small burner that looked like it folded up for easy transport.

Chiyu was grinding some dried up herbs into a fine powder.

"What are you working on?" Hinata asked.

"Ryuuden." She answered. "It grows up in the high mountains. You dry the flowers and then grind them into a fine powder. When you mix it with Snowdrop and water you get a potion that negates paralysis."

"You sure seem to know a lot." Hinata smiled.

"Doku-kun is the expert in poisons and antidotes. I'm more healing. My healing Jutsu's are unmatched."

"Which is why Meiyo-neesan lets us stay with the group." Doku added in, now no longer distracted by his task.

"I don't understand." Sakura admitted.

"Doku-kun and I are still gennin. We are the only gennin who stays with Meiyo-neesan and the main force. Everyone else stays at the retreat while we get to travel to Seika and back escorting our charges. This will be our last trip until we receive word it is safe to return home."

Chiyu finished grinding the flowers into powder and carefully poured it into a wax-coated bag. She meticulously cleaned up her work area, than pulled out a vial with a thin rubber top on it.

"Think we can get more of that poison now Dokutsume?" She asked.

"Hai."

Sakura and Hinata jumped, forgetting that the snake could speak. Both watched wearily as Dokutsume slithered down from Doku's shoulder and rested in front of Chiyu. Chiyu held the vile out and Dokutsume struck it with lightning fast speed.

Sakura and Hinata could only watch in shock as the poison shot from Dokutsume's fangs to fill a fourth of the small vial with a clear liquid. Dokutsume removed her fangs, than slithered up to curl around Chiyu's shoulders instead.

"Traitor." Doku commented with a hurt look on his face.

Dokutsume just stuck her tongue out and Chiyu chuckled as she carefully labelled the vile and handed it to Doku to file away in his case.

"Dokutsume's poison is strong enough to drop a ryuu before it even feels the bite." Chiyu commented. "But she can also cause paralyses and sleep."

"How?" Hinata asked.

"Dokutsume has four poison sacks. Right now she's only good for one bit a day, but that will change when she gets older and can secrete more poison. Poison, Sleep, Paralysis, and Antidote. We haven't found a poison yet the Dokutsume can't counter with her bite, but she can only do that one once a week since it takes longer to secrete it." Doku explained.

"Right now Dokutsume is just a little one, no older than two years. We don't know how big she will get, but Akadoku is already fifteen feet long and can use his poisons six times a day. But unlike Dokutsume, he only has poisons. Instead of healing his fourth is chakra destroying." Chiyu finished.

"Akadoku?" Sakura asked.

"Aniki's partner." Doku answered.

"Doku-kun, Chiyu-chan, it's past bed time." Kannon stated as he joined them.

"Hai, Kannon-senpai." Both children chimed.

Chiyu started to clean up and set out their sleeping bags while Doku finished what he was doing before joining her.

"Goodnight, Doku-kun, Chiyu-chan, Dokutsume." Sakura smiled at them.

"Good night Sakura-san, Hinata-san." The three chimed.

"Please, just Sakura or Sakura-chan is fine."

"Hai."

Sakura and Hinata left to return to their own beds. It was late and both had used a lot of Chakra and stamina fixing up everyone from their fight earlier. No one had been seriously injured, just bruised, exhausted, scratched, and in Neji's case, molested.

* * *

I both love and hate this chapter. Some scenes were great, others not so good. 

Hopefully now everyone understands that the citizens of Konoha are the descendents of the slaves that Vouma-sama took from Seika, which is why only the blood from those of Konoha would activate the portal.

Clues I had giving; The bones of children in the cave, Sasuke mentioning his talk with Kabuto about the belief of a massive retreat, the painting of Vouma-sama lording over slaves, the blood of Konoha to activate the gate, Kyuubi and Shukaku's talk, the Lizard they met in the forest, and lastly the same blood lines. I congratulate inuyasha91 for being the only one I know of for figuring it out, although I suspect Nimba1 also guessed based on a past review.

Alright, lots of OC's I know, but they will all be regulated to the background other then the few I mentioned in earlier chapter that will stay up front a little (Meiyo, Kannon, and Keiji). They will be in scenes, but have like, a total of three told from their point of view. I tend to use them as support instead of fore runners.

Why so many OC's? Let's face it, I am introducing an entire new village that is the mother of Konoha and a group of Shinobi that are escorting a large civilian force to a safe house. The only realistic way to do it was to have this many guardians. For the record they are the same age as Naruto and his friends, making them 15. Their ranks will be revealed by Meiyo later on.

A recap on the OC's and what their given names mean for anyone who is interested.

Meiyo; Honor

Inuzuka Tsume; claw, talon, etc.

Yuhi Genkaku; illusion

Yamanaka Kannon; diety of mercy. I realized later this name is actually the name of a god that is considered both female and male but I liked it so I kept it.

Uchiha Keiji; rules with discretion

Nara Kageko; Shadow girl. An obvious one.

Hyuuga Zhina; one who spins tops. Fits her perfectly considering she's a Hyuuga.

Uzumaki; Spiral.

Abrume Tomeo; Cautious man. Originally Tomeo was going to be a guy but I wanted more females.

Umino Urika; useful to everyone. Fit for Iruka's cousin.

Hatake Nori; Can't remember where I got this one from. Go figure.

Nikuyaku (niku); Lust. One of the seven deadly sins. I love this character.

Doku; poison

Chiyu; heal. I wrote this before we met Chiyu-baasan in the Manga and so help me I am not changing her name.

I swear never to have an authors note this big again, but I felt like a few things needed to be made clear. Once again thanks to all my reviewers. The more I get the faster I update. It's nice to see some of my old reviewers back.

**Next chapter**; Kurenai and the kids vs. the male adults. Kurenai tries to tell Kento and Kiri about her relationship with Katsu in away they will understand. Using the adults as pillows.

I would like to thank GarretPI for the amazingly long review he emailed me. Curse you now you got me thinking about many of the suggestions and at work today I just thought up how I could incorporate many of the points you brought up into the third book and work them into he counter strike. I'm not going to change this one.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

Chapter 21

Sleep Over

After several hours of debate they had all come to the same conclusion; although most of it coming from Shikaku and Kakashi. Clearly Seika was the parent village of Konoha and their ancestors had come here through that gate in the caves. They were concerned about Temari's remark on talking to Kyuubi, but left that subject alone since they had no more information to work on.

The mirror technique had been started at four in the morning, lasted until five, and their debate brought them to eight. Geki had informed them that they were permitted to have free reign of the hotel for two days, not including today as it was morning, and that Kurenai would be held responsible for their behaviour.

Katsu was going to be sleeping for quite some time and Alara had been ordered to supervise the transportation of goods between Konoha and Oto. Kurenai quickly filled everyone in on Katsu's strict order on what was and wasn't to be said to the kids and what they were and were not allowed to do.

Kurenai led them to the kitchen where she started to prepare breakfast for the kids and Kakashi cooked something for the adults. When Gai had set the last dish on the table, the sounds of rampaging feet and a barking inu could be heard from upstairs.

"They smelt breakfast." Kurenai commented.

Kento and Inuki were the first down the stairs, as usual, and were the first to slip and slid to a halt on the hardwood floor. The others followed suit, bumping into him. Shocked silence rained for several minutes.

"Oi, Kento-kun, what's the hold up?" Kiri complained as she pushed her way to the front.

There was a staring contest between the men and children. The children were still in their pyjamas and their hair was stuck out everywhere; other then Kiri who made sure she was presentable to the world thanks to her upbringing as a Hyuuga, thus explaining why she was always the last one down the stairs.

"Ohayo." Kurenai greeted them with a smile. "Yamanaka-san, Nara-san, Akimichi-san, Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, Asuma-Sensei and I are going to spend the night for a few nights." She explained to the stunned kids.

For a few second there was stunned silence, then a boisterous 'yah' as the kids recovered from their shock and attacked the table with their mouths and the adults with their questions.

"Is it true you can make people act funny Nara-san?"

"Can you really eat a whole cow Akimichi-san?"

"Can you really switch bodies Yamanaka-san?"

"I heard you raise lots of deer. Is that true?"

"Is it true you can grow taller then a building?"

"Can you really read people's minds?"

And other such questions bombarded them between bites of food.

"Table manners." Kurenai chilled, coming to the stunned men's rescue. "Questions can be asked after you have eating, got dressed, cleaned yourselves up, and have cleaned your rooms to MY expectations. And I WILL be checking under beds and in closest." She threatened.

"Awww." Several complained.

They shovelled their food down faster, then bolted for the stairs.

"Ah, Kento-kun, Kiri-chan, you are on kitchen duty." Kurenai stopped them before they could escape.

"Why do you always pick on us?" Kento complained.

"I am not picking on you, your names are clearly posted on the fridge." Kurenai countered, pointing the list of the fridge that had every child's name next to a task set out for each day.

Both kids cleared the tables, filled the sinks with water, and started to clean the dishes with a will Kurenai had never seen in them before. The others could be heard cleaning their rooms.

"Gomen, I should have warned you they would act like that." Kurenai apologized once they were alone again.

"They sure seem spirited." Shikaku noted.

"Where did they get the idea I could read minds?" Inoshi asked.

"Most likely something Ino said or did as a joke one of them overheard." Kakashi answered.

"You mean like when on person guesses what the other is going to say and then claims to be psychic?" Akimichi asked.

"Hai." Kakashi answered.

"You should have heard the questions they asked us." Asuma grinned. "One of them wanted to know if Gai had allergies because he was always crying when Lee was around and another wanted to know if Kakashi had no mouth and that was why he always wore the mask."

"Ah the spirit and inquisition of youth." Gai proclaimed happily.

"Save it for later." Kurenai countered before he could get started. "Asuma, can you get the board games out of the closet? It won't work for long, but it will keep them distracted. But don't grab the dartboards."

"Why not?" Inoshi asked.

"Too easy to be used for training." Shikaku explained, understanding immediately.

"Katsu-sama still lets us use Frisbee's though. I'll take them outside later, after lunch." Kurenai said.

Kiri and Kento finished in the kitchen and bolted for the stairs. Above them they could hear the sound of bumping as they desperately tried to clean their rooms as fast as possible.

"They seem in high spirits for being imprisoned in this hotel." Inoshi stated.

"Hai." Kurenai agreed. "I hate to admit it, but Katsu-sama treats them well, almost to the point of spoiling them. He and his warriors bring them treats every once in a while and somehow he handles them well. I have yet to see him or his men lose their patience with them.

"That reminds me, I wouldn't speak ill of Katsu-sama or his men around them. Like any child, they fall in love with the ones that spoil them. Most of them have already figured out that Katsu-sama is protecting them from the 'bad men' on their own and respect him for it. They like Geki-san to." She warned.

"They also have more energy then Gai on caffeine." Asuma warned. "And I still say Kiri-chan cheats at go fish."

"Go fish?" Shikaku asked.

"One of their favourite games. Every once in a while Katsu-sama lets them come over to the house and we play card games. Can you guys finish setting up the board games? I need to go upstairs and make sure they are actually doing as told." Kurenai asked.

"Sure." Asuma answered for them with a smile of amusement.

"Arigato." She smiled back.

Kurenai started up the stairs, stopping one child who hadn't brushed her hair yet and sternly ordering everyone to wait in their rooms when they were done for inspection. It took two rounds before she cleared everyone and they stampeded back down the stairs.

She headed off any assault on Inoshi, Shikaku, and Akimichi by making a contest up. Whoever won the board game they had been assigned got to ask questions first. The kids dove into the game and most soon forgot that they even had questions to ask.

The seven adults divided up and participated. This way Inoshi, Shikaku and Akimichi only had to handle a few questions at a time. Some were curious, like one girl who asked Shikaku if it was true that deer had velvet on their antlers and if they could really walk right after birth. Other questions were just strange, such as one boy asking Akimichi if it was true that he could swallow a boar whole and then pull the bones back out in perfect shape.

Kurenai kept her eye on everything and quickly moved Shikaku over to card games when he kept winning every strategy-based game he played. Now she knew where Shikamaru had gotten his battle smarts from.

Geki and a few others of Katsu's men delivered lunch. The children relived the delivery boys and girls of the food, thanked them politely, and set the meal up. Kento handed out dished, Kiri chopsticks. The moved in a line and sprawled out all over the main room to continue playing card games.

The adults helped themselves and watched the children in silence. For once the room was relatively quiet.

"How do you do it Kurenai?" Asuma asked as they ate.

"Do what?" She asked.

"Handle them every day. I mean, not even Ino had this much energy."

"Compared to dealing with Kiba and Akamaru day in and day out without back up, this is almost easy. They are just overly excited since we are spending the night; that we are even here at all. Other than, Katsu-sama, Geki-san, myself and a few of Katsu's men, they don't see others very often." She answered.

The children finished eating and cleaned up. Kurenai took them all outside to work off their energy before returning them inside around four. The other adults had cleaned up the board games and took a well-deserved nap; they had been up since three in the morning after all.

A little upset that they got to sleep while she had to handle hyper kids, she made sure the men got a dose of those kids. She set the kids lose upon them armed with water balloons. They weren't kunai or shiruken, but the talent to hit ones target was still the same.

The kids were howling in laughter as the men retreated to find towels to dry up. Gai, of course, had instantly joined in such an amazing display of youth and spirit, so no few kids were soaked and also had to dry up and change.

To her surprise, Geki had returned and handed her a tape before leaving to return with spare clothes for the adults. She thanked him and turned her attention to the men to offer them something dry to change into.

Kakashi and Shikaku were setting up a TV and VCR to the encouragement of the kids. Kurenai glanced at the tape, noted it was about an hour long and seemed to be a documentary on whales.

"_Interesting and educational. Good work Geki-san._" She silently complimented.

Inoshi, Akimichi, Gai, and Asuma got changed while she set the children the task of getting the laundry ready to do later in an effort to save Kakashi and Shikaku from their 'worldly advise,' though she was amused to note that the kids seemed to be right more often then the adults.

Shikaku and Kakashi got changed as everyone gathered round and Kurenai started the movie. She went and got changed once the movie started.

"_A kimono, why couldn't I wear something less restricting. Hmm forest green with white feathers. Better then the red with white dragons, or this one. What ever possessed me to buy white with pink flowers is beyond me. Anko and I must have been drunk that day." She grumbled to herself as she got changed before joining everyone back downstairs._

They watched the movie in silence. Somehow the adults ended up being used as pillows at some point, but they didn't complain. Kento, Kiri and Inuki, who stated that since she was their cousin's sensei, she was theirs, besieged Kurenai.

The children actually fell asleep near the end of the documentary and all seven adults found themselves pinned down by the kids.

"Do we dare move?" Kurenai asked.

"Do we want to stay on the floor or do we want to be besieged by hyper kids? I think I'd take the floor any day." Kakashi answered.

"Their youthful spirit and enthusiasm is amazing." Gai proclaimed.

"It's been ages since Ino last used me as a headrest." Inoshi stated, a hint of wistfulness in his voice.

"Children grow up." Kakashi stated.

"One day you are chasing them around the house to pick up after themselves, the next they are moving out to start lives of their own." Shikaku agreed.

"Like you ever chassed Shikamaru around the house." Akimichi chuckled.

"I did." He denied.

"Yeah, when you wife was in the process of chasing you at the same time." Inoshi added.

They shared a chuckle.

"At least you two didn't have to bolt the fridge door closed to make sure there was food come evening." Akimichi stated.

"My boy's too lazy to do something troublesome like get food."

"Ino was always too concerned about her figure to eat everything in sight."

Kurenai chuckled and listened to the three, childhood friends swap horror stories about their children, though she could hear the undertone of love in each of their voices. A part of her almost wished she had a child of her own, but her life was too hectic to settle down and raise a family. She did have a team to raise.

She blinked at that thought.

"I may not have any children of my own, but with Kiba-kun, Hinata-chan and Shino-kun as my charges, I don't need any."

"Hai." Kakashi agreed. "Try taking care of Naruto."

They divulged into talking about their teams and Asuma got to inform their fathers just what their children were like on the field and away from home. They shared more laughs before the children awoke all at once; every last eye opening and nose lifted to the air in eerie synchronization.

"Dinner's here." Kurenai announced just as the door opened.

The kids bolted up the stairs as Kurenai looked up to see Katsu looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Still got that internal clock and noses set to sense food a mile away I see." He commented as he stepped aside and his men entered, baring trays of food.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She agreed.

Katsu still looked extremely exhausted and sat down at the table almost at once. Kurenai got off the floor and walked up to him before kneeling before him. The others watched in silence from their places on the floor, all of them deciding it was best if they remained as they were.

"Have they behaved today?" Katsu asked, running his fingers through her hair.

She hated when he did that. It felt like he was petting an obedient Inu and rewarding her for wagging her tail when he came home. Behind her she could feel the anger rolling off of some of the men behind her at the degrading display she was forced to put on.

"Hai, Katsu-sama. Better then expected when confronted with new targets." She answered, holding back her distaste.

Katsu chuckled, then looked up as the kids came back down the stairs, all cleaned up and ready for diner, and lined up before them, smiles wide.

"Kurenai-chan says you have been good today. Is this true?" He asked them.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." They chorused together.

"I see. Well then, I guess I have no choice but to reward you then. Bed time is extended and extra hour tonight and you can camp outside tomorrow night."

Silence. Then "Arigato, Katsu-sama." They shouted in glee.

"Alright than. Growing children need food. You better eat before I get hungry and take it all for myself." He threatened teasingly.

The kids laughed and bolted to the kitchen where the food had been laid out. They lined up youngest to oldest and served themselves. Kento brought Katsu a plate and Kiri brought her one before serving themselves.

Kurenai sat next to Katsu as she always did when they ate with the kids. The other adults served themselves last and ate standing up leaning against various walls.

"So tell me how your day was?" Katsu asked kindly.

The children divulged into a mass of voices, telling him everything they had done and what they had learned from their houseguest. Katsu smiled the entire time and listened patiently. When dinner was finished, the children quickly cleaned up and rushed up the stairs to get ready for bed.

"Sounds like they have had a fun day." Katsu commented once they were gone, the sound of many feet and running water coming from upstairs.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She agreed.

"Here." He handed her another video, this one an actual movie. "That will keep them occupied until bed. I will have Geki drop some tents off tomorrow morning."

Katsu then turned his attention to his other three charges.

"You have my permission to join Kurenai-chan outside for this event. The guards will be informed. You will be on your best behaviour."

Gai looked excited at the prospect, but Asuma and Kakashi were better able to school their features. All three of them thanked him to keep things cool between them. Katsu then turned his attention to Alara's charged.

"Alara-san is not here, but she has giving me permission to give you orders. You may also join them on this expedition. No one is to leave the property. I will be holding you responsible, Kurenai-chan."

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

"Very good."

The children were coming back down stairs and lined up again as he stood up.

"Well, I am off to bed. You behave now."

"Hai, Katsu-sama." They chirped.

"I think I recall seeing Geki bringing in some ice cream, but I could be wrong. Ah well." Katsu stated off handily. "Goodnight kids, Good night Kurenai-chan."

"Goodnight, Katsu-sama." They chorused back.

Katsu left out the back door to return to the house. The moment the door was closed, the kids bolted for the freezer.

"Yeah, ice cream bars." Came Kento's shout.

Kurenai just smiled and the other six adults joined her at the table.

Kiri and Kento took the boxes out and started to hand one out to everyone, including the adults and Inuki.

"Alright everyone. Katsu-sama left us another movie." Kurenai stated once everyone had one.

The children finished eating their ice cream in record time, made sure the sticks made it to the garbage, than proceeded to confiscate the adults as pillows again, some ran up to their rooms to return with blankets and pillows until everyone was snuggled together. Kurenai started the movie and then snuggled under the blanket she was sharing with Kiri, Kento and Inuki.

Gai, being the closest to the TV and VCR, hit the power buttons as the movie ended, plunging the room into total darkness until their eyes adjusted to the light coming through the window. All of the kids were blissfully asleep.

"Well, now what?" Asuma asked quietly so as not to disturb them.

"The moment we move, we'll wake them up." Kurenai stated.

"And here I thought I would actually get to sleep in a bed for once." Kakashi sighed.

"You can try to go to bed if you want, but I won't be held responsible for the consequences." Kurenai stated.

"I hate to admit it, but Katsu-sama really does seem to care about the kids." Inoshi stated.

"Hai. I don't think it's an act to get their loyalty either. I've watched him with them for a month now, and everything about him seems genuine. Unlike with me, he doesn't play mind games with them."

"For a merc working for Akatsuki, he isn't that bad." Inoshi agreed.

"Katasu-sama is one of the bad men, isn't he?" Kiri asked.

Silence.

"You are awake Kiri-chan?" Kurenai asked; looking down to the shadow curled up on her right.

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei." Kiri admitted reluctantly.

Kurenai thought hard before answering. She had to be careful how she answered.

"Katsu-sama works for the bad men." She finally decided on.

"But he's shielding us from them to, right?" Kento added from her left. "If he works for them, why is he lying to them?" He asked confused.

"You're awake to Kento-kun?"

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai thought hard again before answering.

"Katsu-sama has a contract with the bad men. Kind of like we, as shinobi, are hired by others to do tasks for our employer. Katsu-sama has a set of morals he won't break and you fall into it. As such, he has the power to protect you from the 'bad men' and he uses his power to do so."

"Kurenai-sensei, I'm really sorry I got you in trouble with the 'bad men.'" Kento apologized.

Kurenai smiled.

"That's okay, it wasn't something you did; it was something I had done earlier to upset Katsu-sama. I told you that already and to forget it." She admonished.

"But it got Katsu-sama in trouble to, didn't it?" Kento asked.

"Ile. Those two 'bad men' didn't care about the fact Katsu-sama is hiding you here. It's the other 'bad men' hired by Akatsuki that we need to worry about."

"Like the big guy with all the scars?" Kento asked in a shudder. "He scares me."

"You met Yashero-san." Kurenai demanded.

"Hai." There was no doubting the fear in both Kiri and Kento's voice.

"How? When?" She demanded.

"Inuzuka-san and Kuromaru-san fought him when we were trying to escape. Inuzuka-san ordered us to run when he showed up, so we did, but he came after us. She stopped him, but got hurt in the process." Kiri explained, voice trembling.

"I tried to help, but I couldn't do anything." Kento stated, his voice indicating he was on the verge of crying. "I wasn't strong enough."

"Kento-kun was knocked away and that man went after him, but Inuzuka-san interfered again with Kuromaru-san. She ordered us to run again, and we did, but the man chassed us into a corner again."

"That's when we first met Katsu-sama. The bad man who was going after us was stopped when he showed up and saved us." Kento finished.

"What of you aunt, Ibiki and Raidou?" Kakashi asked.

Kento was crying now, so Kiri answered.

"Ibiki-san and Raidou-san had already been beaten by the man and his friends. That bad man hurt Inuzuka-san really bad." Kiri sniffed.

"There was so much blood." Kento cried. "Katsu-sama tried to stop it, but there was just so much of it."

Kurenai quickly sat up and hugged both of them to her, letting them sob on her shoulder and muffling the noise so it wouldn't wake the others and she would have a group of hysterical children on her hands.

"Shh, it's alright. I know you tried, but Yashero-sama is very strong, even stronger then me. Everything will be all right. I won't let anything happen to you." She soothed, even though she knew everything was not going all right for Kiba's mother, but Kento didn't need to know just how bad the situation with his aunt was.

"Kurenai-sensei, when you asked me to put that necklace on in the school lunch room, you whispered something about our freedom." Kiri sniffed. "You made a deal with Katsu-sama and that is why we are here, isn't it?"

Kurenai was stunned Kiri had figured it out. It was too dark to tell, but she was sure the others were just as stunned as she was.

"Hai, but I think Katsu-sama would have protected you anyway." She admitted.

"Really?" Kento asked, also drying his tears.

"Hai. I won't lie to you two. I don't particularly care for Katsu-sama. He makes me do things I don't want to do."

"Like when you make us eat our vegetables or clean our rooms or do the dishes?" Kento interjected.

"Hai, something like that." She decided to go with that idea since it was something they could understand. "He makes me do these things since I agreed that I would do them in order to make sure you would stay safe from those looking to hurt you, like the bad man who hurt Inuzuka-san. You could say that I am paying Katsu-sama to protect you from them."

"Like when I clean my room to get ice cream?" Kiri asked in an attempt to understand something that way above her ability.

"Hai. Exactly like that. I do something I don't like as payment and you guys being safe is my reward." She agreed. "Only I have to clean the room every day and all the time."

"You did that for us?" Kento asked shocked.

She could just imagine what his room looked like. If he was anything like Kiba, you wouldn't be able to find the floor if you dug for three years.

"Hai." She answered.

"Why?" Kiri asked, clearly surprised.

"Because I don't want to see anything bad happen to you. I would sooner clean the room all the time then never get to eat ice cream again." She explained.

There was silence as they tried to digest her words into something they could understand. She was sure that they didn't fully grasp just _what_ her payment was, and even if they did know she doubted they would understand why it was bad.

Kiba and Akamaru had always known when her cycles were coming and Kiba once, while on a spying mission, had admitted that he and Akamaru could tell when a couple had spent the night together, she recalled it was the first and only time she had ever seen him blush and seem flustered. She figured Kento and Inuki could also tell, but were too young to fully understand just what it was they were picking up.

"Kurenai-sensei, do you think Kiba-niisan is alright?" Kento asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Hai." She answered with a smile and without hesitation.

Kurenai was glad the subject had changed to something a little safer and easier to answer in a way they would understand. She was starting to run out of ways to explain to them just why she didn't like Katsu without letting them know the true reasons.

"Shouldn't they have made it to Suna by now?" Kiri asked.

"There are many obstacles in the way, and they are being hunted by skilled trackers." Kurenai pointed out to them, stroking their hair to help calm them down and hopefully put them to sleep.

"If anyone can lead them to safety, it's Shikamaru and Temari-san." Asuma grinned, being the first of the others to speak after finding out Kiri and Kento were still awake.

"_About time one of those lazy bastards came to my rescue. Maybe we should have a kids/kunoishi verse's men water fight tomorrow. That will teach them for making me do that all alone." She vowed silently and wickedly._

"Really?" Kiri asked, looking over in Asuma's direction.

"Shikamaru may be lazy, but once he sets a goal in mind, he pursues it tirelessly and puts every ounce of effort into it." Asuma added.

"My son may be lazy, but when he does do something, he does it fully and to the best of his ability." Shikaku added.

"What about Neji-niisan, Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama?" Kiri asked.

"I can't think of many that are stronger then Neji. Hanabi-chan is one of the top rookies and Hinata-chan is amazing with her herbs and ointment. Neji and Shikamaru have worked together with Kiba-kun, Naruto-kun, and Temari-san many times." Kurenai answered.

"And Genma-san and Iruka-sensei are with them. They have lots of experience." Inoshi added.

"Naruto doesn't know the meaning of the words 'give up.'" Kakashi added. "They will complete the mission if it takes them the rest of their lives to do so."

"I hope they come back soon." Kento sighed. "I mean, it was kind of fun and exciting once the scary stuff was over, not that I was scared or anything, but it's getting really boring. And Kiba-niisan promised to teach me and Inuki _Gatsuuga_."

"Did he now?" Kurenai asked surprised.

Kento was a little young to be learning that move. For the full, devastating effect that Kiba pulled off, it required a lot of chakra considering it was generally two techniques combined into one; a combination of _Gijyuu Ninpou; Shikyaku no jutsu_ and _tsuuga_, or _Gatsuuga_ when used with a partner like Akamaru.

"Yep." Kento grinned. "But I have to master the _Shikyaku no jutsu_ first." Kento stated, as if he had no doubt it would be easy.

"I see. It is way past your bed time, so I suggest you get to sleep." Kurenai chilled.

"Alright, but we still get to use you as a pillow Kurenai-sensei." Kiri demanded.

"Yeah. It would be unfair if we were the only ones left out." Kento added in mater-of-fact tone.

"Arf." Inuki agreed, wagging her tail.

"Alright. But if you're not asleep in five minutes, you have to sleep in your beds." She threatened.

"Hai." Both kids agreed. Inuki barked in agreement.

Smiling, Kurenai laid down again and both kids and inu curled up against her, pulling the blankets snug. They were asleep in moments. She smiled sadly down at them. They understood so much and yet so little.

How could she tell them that it may take at least a year for Shikamaru to return? How could she get them to understand that their only hope was across the eastern ocean and talking to their distant cousins? That their security was compromised because the man they adored was watching everything they did through a mirror.

There was a chance that several shinobi who had been out of the village would return to find things taken over and head to Suna for help, but without Temari, Kankurou, Baki and, especially, the Kazekage, Suna would not move. No doubt many of those returning from missions were captured upon their return, most definitely not expecting trouble and often too tired or injured to notice little things.

"_After one month, those who aren't on extended mission or highly classified ones would have returned. We still have had no word of Rin or Hiashi-sama. Maybe they made it to Suna or are still hiding._" Kurenai silently hoped. _"There is also a chance they have been able to round up others as the passed them or found them."_

"You're really good with children." Kakashi stated after several minutes of silence. "I am surprised you don't have any of your own."

"If that's an offer I would take it back before I reintroduce your head to frying pan-san." Kurenai threatened.

"Frying pan-san?" Akimichi asked.

"Kurenai's hentai control device." Asuma answered. "I think Kakashi is going insane without his reading material." Asuma offered.

"And you've been on nicotine withdrawals since this whole affair started." Kakashi stated.

"Ah the burning fires of rivalry." Gai sighed.

"Oi, Akimichi-san?" Kurenai called.

"Hai?"

"Want to trade cells?" She asked.

"I don't think Katsu-sama would allow that." Shikaku pointed out.

"It was worth a try." She sighed.

She turned her attention back to Gai, Asuma, and Kakashi, who were still trying to score points against each other with Gai keeping score.

"Oi, if you don't pipe down and go to sleep, you won't be permitted to join us on the camping trip." She threatened.

Silence

"I think Kurenai just won." Inoshi chuckled.

"That had to be worth the most points." Shikaku agreed.

"Can we roast fish?" Akimichi asked.

"You won't be roasting anything of you don't go to sleep. I am tired. Unlike you bastards, I didn't get any sleep today." She growled.

As if to confirm her statement, a large yawn fought its way out of her. She shifted slightly to get more comfortable, then closed her eyes. She was asleep before she even knew it.

* * *

Awe, what a cute chapter. Quality time with the kids and Katsu not being too demanding.

Thank you everyone who reviewed. I am glad everyone seems to like the OC's. I personally don't mind OC's if they have their own personality.

Just one thing to mention. The Kage of Seika is the Seikage (I think that would translate to Sacred Shadow but I am no master at Japanese and Seikage sounds cool) and they long since gave up numbering them. Seika is the parent village of Konoha and was over one thousand years old before the split.

Next Chapter, Tying up loss ends with Meiyo and her group before I press forward again with the story.

Other Notes; this arc ends when they reach Sanctuary. I am almost done the little mini-arc that will take place over the winter, than I will time skip to spring when they head out of their mission back to Konoha.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer; don't own Naruto

Chapter 22

Kyuubi's History Revealed

He was the strongest in his clan. He had been the top in his class and one of the youngest shinobi to make Jounin. His abilities were unmatched by even Naruto, who only won due to his unpredictability and the fact that he had two sources of chakra, one of which was extremely immense.

So why then was Hyuuga Neji hiding behind Tenten from the annoying white haired girl who was even more of a hentai then Jiraiya? She was not that strong, certainly no match for his prowess, but something about the look in her eyes and the gleam in her face convinced him it would be better to stay as far away from her as possible.

She was shameless and an open flirt. Meiyo's group was use to her antics and already had themselves protected. Kannon was talking to Choji and Hinata. His cousin was using her byakugan to keep tabs on Niku and would warn Kannon when the white haired terror was getting near. Keiji was talking to Ino and the one time Niku had made a go for him Ino had used her _Shinrenshin_ and made Niku trip into every tree they passed for half an hour until Niku vowed to never touch Keiji again.

Doku was too young for her to chase after. Shino creeped even her out and didn't have long hair to begin with. Everyone with short hair was safe and he briefly toyed with the idea of cutting his hair, but to do so would be to admit defeat to her.

He walked slightly behind Tenten at the rear of the part, trying to stay out of Niku's sight without seeming like he was. Of course 'She' would have noticed. She knew him too well from training with him for four years.

"Neji, why are you hiding behind me?" Tenten asked.

"I'm guarding the rear." He answered.

"Right, yours or ours?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"His I think." Uzumaki laughed.

Neji would have growled at him, but that would have been pathetic even for him. He would not stoop so low as to rise to Naruto's baiting.

"_If I was blind and couldn't see those two were cousins, I sure as hell would know just by their attitudes._" He grumbled to himself.

"I don't like her at all." Tenten agreed with him.

"Only because she was hitting on your man." Uzumaki grinned.

"Nani?" She demanded, turning a glare on them that promised instant death.

"Nothing." Uzumaki denied.

"Oi, Neji-kun, still hiding back here." Niku chuckled as she fell back to join them.

He conveniently moved to Tenten's other side. It was just a better, defensive position there; that was all. He most certainly was not running from her. It was just a coincident that he had to move when she arrived.

"Can I help you Nikuyaku-san?" Tenten asked coldly.

"Ile, Ile." Niku denied cheerfully. "Just checking the line for Meiyo-chan." She answered.

"Well, since you have clearly made it to the end, I believe it would be best for you to return to the front to report to Meiyo-san then." Tenten all but growled.

"I know how to do my job." Niku stated, then turned about and returned to the front.

Neji was pleased to note that Kannon somehow ended up on the opposite side from the one Niku was walking.

"I hate that girl." Tenten repeated.

Neji silently agreed.

(break)

Meiyo sighed as she watched Niku's antics with her Byakugan, which was fully activated and rarely turned off. Out of her entire group, she had the most chakra and power by far.

"Niku is coming up front again." Genkaku reported.

"I am going to have to tie her to a log." Meiyo sighed.

"She has an interesting personality." Temari stated.

"You should warn your charges to post guards when they bathe." Tsume sighed. "Niku likes to peek."

"A female pervert?" Shikamaru asked in surprise.

"Aye." Genkaku sighed.

"What are your plans for now?" Meiyo asked.

"We need to get to Suna, but the only ways back are through the tunnels using the gate, most likely guarded now, or to take a ship back to Konoha, in which case we need to get all they way across enemy territory again until we finally get to Suna. The boarder was guarded the first time and is most likely guarded still. The back way in was through those caves that housed the portal." Temari answered.

"Taking a ship will take a week at best, two or more at worse. If we can even find one there are still lots of dangers when traveling on the ocean." Shikamaru added.

"Hai, but if we can find a safe place for the children we might be able to bust our way through. It wasn't an option last time because of the wounded and children we had at the time." Temari pointed out.

"True." Shikamaru agreed and both of them fell silent, clearly deep in analytical mode.

Meiyo briefly wondered how good they were in Go and Shoji, but tossed the thought aside for the moment. Now wasn't the time to be thinking such things. Instead she tried to think her way through how she could help them without overstepping the boundaries laid before her.

She listened to Niku's report (Genkaku had somehow materialized on the opposite side of Niku's path when the girl arrived), then dismissed Niku to scout ahead, keeping her away from the boys, before returning to pondering in silence.

Shikamaru and his charges were in a bad spot. Temari's estimations were exactly what she had figured they would be facing, and she had a feeling they were downplaying the seriousness of their situation.

"_We may be distant cousins, third or fourth removed judging by the time spread, but we are all still shinobi. We don't trust each other. I know they are hiding things from me, just as I am withholding things from them._

"_Keiji and the Yamanaka girl, Ino I believe her name was, seem to be getting along well. Uzumaki and that Naruto boy look like they found their long lost brother. I feel I can trust them and I want to help them. I will have to have a discussion with Zihna, Uzumaki, Keiji and Kageko later tonight to discus our next move._

"_For now, I feel it is safe to bring them with us to our base and let them rest up and recover. Like my current condition, the children are slowing them down. I can openly offer to let them stay with us. I have that much authority at least."_

She didn't need to look around while her byakugan was activated to see how well most of them were getting along. Even Kannon and Kageko hadn't argued as much lately, though Kageko was still throwing her weight around.

"Shikamaru-san, Temari-san, I would like to extend the use of our base as a safe house. A few extra children are hardly going to make much difference. I am afraid that I cannot offer our assistance in helping you outside of our lands. That only the Seikage or an elder can do and they can only make the deal with an official representative of your village."

"Gaara is the Kazekage of Suna." Temari stated.

Meiyo was stunned. She looked back at the boy her own age; reddish brown hair, aqua-green eyes, giant gourd, and a tattoo for love on his forehead.

"_He's a kage already?_" She thought stunned.

There was something funny about his chakra, and Naruto's too, but she didn't press or reveal she knew about it yet.

"Any assistance you can offer us is more than we expected to find and will be graciously accepted." Shikamaru stated.

"Is there a chance that Gaara can talk to your Seikage-sama?" Temari asked.

"Hai, but I must finish this mission first and convene with my assistants before making any decisions. The trip to visit the Seikage is dangerous. We made it this far because there are portals helping us, but they are all one way and the trip back to Seika will take two weeks on a good day." She answered.

"Two weeks?" Shikamaru asked, surprise in his voice.

"Hai." She answered.

It would be a dangerous trip. The Ryouken no Jigoku were constantly hunting them, and other youkai and humans were in pursuit of her and her companions.

"_The sooner I drop these kids off and leave again, the safer they will be." She thought determinedly. "They are still hunting us. If we leave, we take the hunters with us. It may be worth taking Shikamaru and Temari to see the Seikage. It will give us an excuse to leave that won't frighten the children and civilians. Though we should remain for a month to rest up, make plans, train a little together, and gather supplies._

"_Shikamaru's group doesn't look like chumps either. I count at least ten Jounin; Shikamaru, Temari, Genma, Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Lee, Shino, Gaara, and Sasuke. Sakura and Hinata look like they are also of that level but may not have taken the exam yet for medical specialists. Chiyu-chan says it's a lot harder then the ones we take._

"_The rest, other then the nine twelve year olds, are clearly Chuunin. Of the Genin, only Hanabi and Konohamaru look like they would be of any problem. That gives them at least Ten Jounin, seven Chuunin, and two fighting genin._

"_For Jounin I have Zihna, Keiji, Uzumaki, Kageko and Tsume. For Chuunin I have Tomeo, Kannon, Genkaku, Urika, Nori, and Nikuyaku. For competent Genin I have Doku and Chiyu. Giving me five Jounin, six Chuunin, two competent Genin, and me._

"_Their Jounin double ours, the Chuunin beat ours by one and we are equal on competent Genin. Most of my Chuunin look more competent then theirs are and few would have been Jounin by now if it hadn't been for this damn crisis. If it turns into a fight, for whatever reason, I feel we would be able to win._

"_Naruto and Gaara still worry me with their strange chakra. Uzumaki reported that Naruto claims to have a youkai sealed within him and I would bet the one named Gaara, who I must remember is the Kazekage, meaning his is very strong, has one too._

"_However, I have Tsume and Uzumaki to counter that. And we have me. I do not doubt that there is no one stronger than me here and I bet any summon they could call would not be as powerful as Akadoku, but I do not wish to reveal all of my abilities. A friend can quickly become a foe when jealousy or desire interferes. I have enough people after me as it is. "_

Meiyo focused her attention on Gaara. He had remained silent and rarely spoke, seeming to let Temari and Shikamaru do all of the work. She figured that this was because other then Temari and Kankurou, the rest of the group was from Konoha and Shikamaru was clearly Konoha's leader. The interaction she noted between Temari and Shikamaru also indicated that they seemed to be in courtship and she guess Gaara approved and didn't want to get in the way.

Temari and Shikamaru certainly seemed to know what they were doing to have gotten this far with so many children and so few wounded when pursued by such a large, organized force. If they were going to get anywhere with two well maintained forces on their tails, they were going to have to know just what the other could do.

"Shikamaru-san, Temari-san, it is still a ways away from where we are going. I would like to know a basis for what your levels are. I do not expect you to divulge to me everything, but the basic would be nice." She requested.

"Hai. It would be pointless for one group to drag another into a fight without knowing what our basic levels are." Shikamaru agreed.

"I would guess that we are equal for those of us with comrades sharing the same family back ground, but I am unfamiliar with those from Suna. Sakura, Tenten, Lee, Genma-san, and Konohamaru-kun I am also unfamiliar with."

"Sakura is our healer and has incredible strength. Tenten never misses a target. Lee is a very fast, very strong taijutsu master. Konohamaru is good at transforming and basic skills. Genma-san is a typical specialist Jounin." Shikamaru answered.

"Gaara uses his Suna and there is almost nothing he can't do with it. The suna also automatically guards him from attacks. Kankurou is a puppet master and I use primary Fuuton jutsu's with some suna based ones." Temari added.

"Of your forces, we are unfamiliar with Nori, Nikuyaku, Doku and Chiyu. Is it safe to guess that Genkaku is a Genjutsu master like Kurenai-sensei?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hai." Genkaku answered for himself, though he had no idea who this Kurenai person was.

"Nori is amazingly fast and skilled in all Ninjutsu arts. Nikuyaku uses Fuuton, and Katon techniques.

"When she isn't terrorizing the enemy by groping them or passing them sly winks." Genkaku grumbled.

"Doku-kun knows more about poisons and toxins then anyone I know other then his older brother, and Chiyu-chan is a master healer better then most emergency medics I have ever met. She is still a Genin because of the crisis but I would guess her abilities are easily Medical Jounin equivalent." Meiyo finished, ignoring Genkaku's interruption.

"Sounds like we got quite the group than." Temari stated.

"Hai." Meiyo agreed.

Her own group was powerful to begin with, but with Shikamaru's group added, it just made things more deadly.

"It should only be fair we know about our pursuers as well. You mentioned you had Ryouken no Jigoku on your tails and that other Youkai were controlling them. I think it would be best of we know what we may be facing." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Hai. As Keiji-kun mentioned earlier, Ryouken no Jigoku can be banished by water. Fire has no effect on them. They are very strong and fast. They have orders to take most of us alive so they will maim as oppose to outright kill those they have the scent of. They are very intelligent to the point of problem solving and planning.

"The youkai controlling them varies and is seldom seen unless the ryouken manage to corner us for at least half an hour. Lately they have been lesser youkai that are just bastards to kill, but can be if dealt enough damage. Most of them are weak against holy items, such as oak leaves, holy water, and other such things. Unfortunately we don't have Miko's or Hoishi's with us. I don't suppose anyone in your group works in a temple?"

"Ile." Shikamaru answered. "Religion is not very big in Konoha." He admitted.

"Nor in Suna." Temari agreed.

"Hmm, one strange continent you guys come from. Few youkai. No religious factions, though that could explain the absence of youkai and the absence of religion. You did say Vouma-sama ruled a lot of land their though, right."

"So Kyuubi explained to us." Temari admitted.

"Kyuubi? As in that damn, six tailed menace of destruction and former general for Vouma-sama before he disappeared? Still calling himself Kyuubi eh." Meiyo was amazed at that.

"That damn traitor killed three of our best warriors before turning over to Vouma-sama." Tsume snarled.

"Rumors said he was convinced to fight against Vouma-sama at the end of the war, though no one knows if that is fact or rumour." Genkaku commented.

Temari and Shikamaru shared a look of confusion.

"It is true Kyuubi knew of Seika and Vouma-sama, but he does have nine tails." Shikamaru stated.

Meiyo and her group actually stopped dead in their tracks.

"Impossible." Meiyo whispered. "A Kiki-kitsune has never, ever in the history of the world acquired more then six, and Kyuubi was the first and only one to even acquire six. They are tricksters and thieves. Only the nobler Chiyu-kitsunes have acquired seven or more tails. As you know, the more tails, the more power."

"What did Kyuubi look like? Maybe we are talking about two different Kistune's." Tsume asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"Genma-san." Shikamaru called.

Genma trotted up the line to meet them.

"Hai?" He asked.

"What did Kyuubi look like?" Shikamaru asked.

"Kyuubi?" Genma was clearly surprised by the question.

"Hai. None of us were born yet, or if we were, we were less then a year old." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Please, we need to know." Tsume stated.

Genma was silent for several minutes, then spoke, a hint of fear and pain in his voice.

"Kyuubi was a large as a mountain. He had nine tails that lashed behind him, causing devastation wherever they landed. His fur was fire red and short. He was kind of skinny or streamlined." He answered. "The fourth Hokage sealed him in Naruto, as you know, but died in the process."

"Hai, I understand." Temari suddenly started to recognize the description. "It's the form Naruto and the frog he summoned took to defeat Gaara."

"Wait, the youkai in Naruto is Kyuubi?" Meiyo demanded.

"Hai." Temari admitted after weighing the situation.

If they lied and Meiyo found out about it, it would seriously strain their relationship. However, clearly Kyuubi had a bad reputation with those of Seika. Naruto was strong though and Temari was positive he could defend himself. Besides, Seika was the only help they had and as much as she hated to admit it, they needed help.

"And Naruto can speak to him?" Tsume added.

"Hai." Shikamaru reluctantly answered this time.

There would be no point in keeping that a secret as well. It would be awkward trying to explain where some of their information came from and like Temari's internal argument, Shikamaru admitted that they needed Seika's help.

Both girls shared a look.

"I would like to speak to Kyuubi, to confirm it is the kitsune we speak of. In our lands, Kyuubi has many enemies and if anyone were to find out about him being sealed in Naruto, we would know no rest." Meiyo requested after several more moments of silence.

"That would be up to Naruto-kun." Temari stated.

"I will ask him personally than. Is their any other sealed youkai we should know about?" Meiyo demanded, starting to walk once more.

Temari and Shikamaru shared a look, then looked back to Gaara.

"I have Shukaku sealed within me." Gaara answered for himself.

"Hence your control of Suna?" Tsume commented guessed.

"Hai." Gaara admitted.

"Shukaku is unknown to us." Meiyo commented.

"We gathered he was from our homeland to begin with." Temari stated.

"Is their anything about your own charges we should know about?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not much other then Tsume and Uzumaki are both hanyou." She answered after a few seconds on internal debate.

If Shikamaru and Temari came clean on Naruto and Gaara, it was only fair that she do the same with Uzumaki and Tsume, thus avoided questions later.

"Hanyou?" Temari asked confused.

"Half youkai." Tsume answered, showing her claws on her hands that were natural and not the result of some Jutsu like Kiba's was. "Just means we have better physical stamina and tend to be slightly faster and stronger then the average human. Our sense of smell and hearing is also stronger and we heal faster."

"It's possible to be half human, half youkai?" Shikamaru asked.

"Rare, but hai. It is possible." Tsume answered. "But we have gotten way off topic. Meiyo-chan, you were talking about our pursers." Tsume reminded.

"You are correct. As I had originally been saying, most of the youkai pursuing us are lesser youkai that just need a good beating to kill, but their increased speed and strength make then annoying. Any normal human would be killed before they saw them move, but Shinobi tend to be able to level the field.

"There are some human bands after us, but they are not really worth mentioning. Most of them are hired thugs and bandits. They are more of a nuisance and are used as cannon fodder by the youkai." Meiyo finished. "What of your pursuers?"

"Two mercenary groups hired by Akatsuki to hunt us down."

"Akatsuki?" Tsume asked, clearly confused.

"A group of nine elite shinobi looking to use Kyuubi and Shukaku for their own unknown purposes." Temari answered.

"One group is led by Kenari-san, who seems to be an expert tracker and is the one who has been on our tail the entire time. She seems honourable enough and has orders to take us in alive is possible. During the fight in the cavern she ignored the children.

"The other group is led by a man named Yashero-san. He seems to be a brute, a strong, smart one to make maters worse, and has a thing against the Inuzuka family." Shikamaru explained.

"So that's why some of those mercs were coming after me so violently." Tsume commented.

"What of this Akatsuki you spoke of?" Meiyo demanded.

"I am afraid we don't know all of the members or what they hope to achieve, but of the four we do know, they include;

"Uchiha Itachi. He is a full master of the Sharingan and perhaps the most powerful member of the group. His speed at jutsu's is extremely fast so most of the time all you see is a twitch of his eye before they are on you. He was an ANBU commander by thirteen and is a former Shinobi of Konoha. He killed his entire family but Sasuke several years ago.

"Hashigaki Kisame. He wields a big blade that devours chakra and is a master of Suiton jutsu's. He is also physically strong and his sword shaves. It looks like it is built out of sharks' teeth. Kisame himself looks like a mutated shark of some sort. He has a twisted side that likes to maim things. Kisame and Itachi are partners.

"Deidara, is a master of using clay sculptures as an offensive and defensive weapon. The Shikigami can also explode. Other then that, not much is known about Deidara.

"The last one we know of is Akasuna no Sasori. He is a poison specialist and seems to know a lot about puppets. He was originally from Suna and is Deidara's partner." Shikamaru finished. "Of the other members we know nothing about them other then that they are stronger then most Kage's and ANBU and that other then their leader they always travel in groups of two."

"Then there is Orochimaru." Temari added.

"Orochimaru?" Meiyo asked.

"He is formally from Konoha. He killed the third Hokage over three years ago. He knows more Jutsu's then most people out there and…" Shikamaru paused.

"He is the equivalent of Doku-kun in Konoha." Temari finished for him.

"That was why so many of us were surprised to see Doku-kun. Orochimaru is the only one from our village left from that family and he has caused more strife and problems than Akatsuki has." Shikamaru finished.

"I see." Meiyo pondered.

They did have quite the force after them. She was going to have a long discussion with her generals when they rested for the night. A glance at the sky and the terrain let her know that they were almost to the next waypoint to rest for the evening.

"We are almost at the next rest spot. I need to consult with my generals and I have a feeling you wish to do the same."

"Hai." Shikamaru agreed.

They walked in silence for another hour before calling it in for the night and setting camp and guards.

(break)

"Well, what do you think?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru, Temari, Genma, Gaara and Naruto were sitting together around a small fire and eating their rations for the evening. Shikamaru and Temari had taken turns explained the situation to them and what they had learned from their talk with Meiyo.

"Youkai and humans can breed?" Naruto asked shocked.

"Apparently." Temari answered.

"So that was what Uzumaki meant when he had said his mother was a Kitsune. I though he was just talking about being adopted or something." Naruto commented.

"That's interesting Naruto-kun." Temari grinned.

"Huh, what is?" He asked.

"That you have a Kitsune sealed in you and your cousin is half Kitsune." Temari answered.

Naruto blinked.

"Hahaha, that is kind of funny." He agreed. "I guess Kitsunes run in the family."

"What do you think about having family?" Temari asked.

Naruto was silent for a minute.

"It's great. Uzumaki and I have so many things in common and he didn't care about Kyuubi in the least. He thinks it's amusing too." Naruto stated cheerfully.

"He likes ramen." Temari concluded.

"Hai." Naruto admitted.

"Can we get back on topic?" Gaara asked.

"Right, gomen." Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Did you notice how they didn't start adding the affixes to everyone's names until after they felt like they could trust us?" Genma asked.

"Hai. I think it was to prevent an enemy from knowing a persons relationship with each other. If I was in battle and noticed one of my enemies kept calling one other person 'kun' or 'chan' I would be able to notice that person has an emotional attachment with the one they are speaking to and can use that against them." Shikamaru explained.

"By watching for 'sama' or 'san' I could also discern who was in charge or who has the power of the group and could target that person. By not adding the affixes to their names in combat or during unknown circumstances, they protect their identities and relationships." Temari finished.

"A wise plan." Gaara stated. "And more of a reason to drop the Kazekage title and the 'sama' or 'san.'"

"You'll always be Gaara-kun to me." Naruto grinned.

Gaara just smiled in amusement, as did Temari.

"Naruto, Meiyo-san wanted to know if she could talk to Kyuubi. They think Kyuubi is the same kitsune who use to work for Vouma-sama." Shikamaru stated.

"I'll ask." Naruto promised.

They watched as his eyes closed and his breathing evened out.

(break)

"Damn, I am getting better at this." Naruto noted with a grin.

He had managed to appear in the room holding Kyuubi, who was currently sleeping all curled up.

"Oi, Baka Kitsune." Naruto called.

Kyuubi's ears twitched and one of his eyes shot open.

"What do you want kit?" He demanded, ire clear in his voice that his sleep was disturbed.

"Meiyo-san seems to think you use to a general for Vouma-sama." Naruto commented.

Kyuubi's tails twitched in agitation and his ears flickered back.

"Who is Meiyo?" He demanded, shifting his position so he was facing Naruto while still laying down.

"One of the others we found that is from the village of Seika." Naruto answered.

"Seika? We are back on the Eastern continent?" Kyuubi demanded.

"Hai. Oi, is she right?" Naruto demanded.

Kyuubi was silent.

"I was a kit at the time." He admitted.

"Is that why you attacked Konoha? Revenge?" Naruto guessed.

"Ile. I attacked Konoha when they refused to honour our agreement." Kyuubi roared in rage, jumping to his feet and pacing back and forth in front of the bars, tails twitching in agitation. "I believed they had honour, but they refused to compensate me for my assistance." He snarled.

"Nani?" Naruto demanded. "You _helped_ our ancestors defeat Vouma-sama?"

"Hai. Do you seriously believe that those kids were able to defeat Vouma-sama by themselves? It was I who found the tunnels and told them how to escape. It was I who made sure the guards were absent during their run. It was I who cleared the path for them to the place now called Konoha. They agreed to compensate me for my services and than refused when I came to collect my due."

Naruto was in shock. Nothing in their records showed that Kyuubi had been seen before his attack fifteen years ago. Something wasn't adding up. Was Kyuubi lying ow were the elders?

"You never showed up in our record until you attacked us." Naruto challenged.

"Records. Keh, all of those were destroyed during the Shinobi wars, which were instigated by the youkai generals fighting for Vouma-sama's domain and by the humans hopping to eliminate the warriors of Vouma-sama. That was why Konoha was under siege. Your ancestors spilled more blood by Vouma-sama's command, granted as slaves, then anyone other then his youkai hordes.

"I agreed to help your ancestors in exchange for something of theirs when I choose to claim it. When I came to claim it, I was denied. That was why I attacked Konoha. Get your facts straight kit." Kyuubi fumed.

"What did you want?" Naruto asked curiously. "What would we have that you would need?"

Kyuubi grinned.

"I wanted but a single child, the offspring of one of the villages most strongest warriors. That was the deal I made with the first leader of the village, and he agreed to it. Instead of handing over my payment, Konoha denied me it and attacked. I responded in kind. In case you failed to notice kit, how many woman and children did I kill?" Kyuubi demanded.

"Ah…"

"None. I attacked your warriors, not the actual city." Kyuubi pointed out. "It was troublesome, but I guess I got what I wanted in the end." Kyuubi chuckled.

"Ano, got what in the end?" Naruto asked.

"My desire, though I never guess he would give it to me like this." Kyuubi chuckled.

Naruto was confused. Figuring out word riddles was best left to Shikamaru and Temari.

"Oi, Baka Kitsune, speak plainly." Naruto shouted in frustration after his brain burnt out trying to work through it.

"Enough." Kyuubi roared, taking Naruto by surprise. "Enough." Kyuubi commanded more calmly. "Stop calling me that. If you must call me something, call me by my name, or Kitsune. You should have respect for the one who had protected and helped you foolish kit."

Naruto was very surprised. For over three years Kyuubi had never shown any distress at him calling him 'baka kitsune.' Kyuubi was right though. If he hadn't been lending Naruto his power over the years, he would have been defeated and already dead several times over. He would never have defeated Haku, Neji or Gaara. He never would have rescued Sakura. Sasuke would have trashed him during the fight at the border of Oto and Konoha. He wouldn't heal as quickly or recover chakra after a night rest. He owed a lot of his strength to Kyuubi.

"Oi, Kitsune, do you know why Akatsuki wants you and Shukaku?" Naruto asked.

"As sacrifices to revive a dead legend." Kyuubi answered. "Enough for now Kit. I have giving you much of my power lately and even I need to rest and recover. Be gone. I wish to sleep."

Kyuubi curled back up with the clear intent to sleep.

Naruto wanted to know about what dead legend Kyuubi was talking about, but turned to leave anyway. Even Kyuubi needed rest to recover his chakra after lending so much of it to Naruto.

"Arigato, Kyuubi." He whispered, than disappeared as he returned to his own body.

Kyuubi cracked open an eye and watched the boy leave, his sharp hearing having picked up the kits words.

"_You left an interesting legacy Yondaime Hokage. I am surprised he doesn't know. In the end you gave me what I wanted, even if this was not how I wanted it._

"_The seal is weakening. I could break it at any time. Still, this is more interesting. I will stick around to see this event to the end. Even I respect a fathers wish to protect his son. That was why I didn't kill you out right." Kyuubi thought as he closed his eye again and drifted off to sleep._

(break)

"Did you talk to Kyuubi?" Temari asked.

"Hai, Meiyo-san is right." Naruto commented quietly as he told them everything he had learned from Kyuubi.

When he was done, they glanced at Genma, who was the only one here who had been at the event.

"I know nothing of any such request. But the battle had already been going on when I arrived." He admitted. "The ones who had originally confronted Kyuubi were killed during the battle."

"So no one was left alive who would have knowing about the demand?" Temari asked.

Genma was silent for several moments, than spoke again.

"Yondaime-sama did summon a giant, red and purple frog to fight for him." Genma admitted. "He might know something."

"Gamabunta?" Naruto asked surprised. "He never told me anything about fighting with Yondaime-sama."

"Is that who you summoned to fight Gaara?" Temari demanded, remembering the event from over three years ago.

"Hai. It takes a lot of chakra though. I will need to rest to do it. Usually I use Kyuubi's, but even he is out at the moment." Naruto answered.

"It is a waste of chakra. For now it isn't important and we will have to take Kyuubi's word for what little it is worth." Shikamaru commented.

The others silently agreed.

* * *

This was more of a wrap up chapter as well as explaining some of Kyuubi's history with Seika and why he attacked Konoha, at least in my version. Yes Uzumaki and Tsume are both half demon, what their demons are should be fairly obvious.

Why were Shikamaru, Temari, and Meiyo so open to each other about such secrets? In Tsume and Uzumaki's case it was clear they were not human by scent alone. Naruto and Gaara both had strange chakra that Meiyo and Zhina could easily see and Tsume could smell. It was also a mater of trust. It is clear to them that Seika and Konoha are sister villages and thus they trust each other a little more then they would otherwise. If soemthing came up that one side had been hiding from the other it would put them at odds with eachother in a situation where neither side can afford it. This doesn't mean they will show every move in their arsonal to eachother, just that things like Kyuubi will be shared.

Yes, some of the ranks Meiyo labelled off for the Konoha Shinobi were wrong. She doesn't know which true rank they hold after all. She is guessing.

Next chapter; Big events happen, alright maybe not too big, but definitly a life changer. It had to happen sooner or later after all.

Garret Pi; There is a slight undertone of her relationship with Asuma, but she is often kept seperate from the boys; spendering her time either with the children or with Katsu, so options for such a thing to show up is very limited. As for the frying pan, a lot less of it will show up, in fact I don't think it does anymore. The last chapter was the last of it, things next chapter are going to do a complete twist around of her situation.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

Warning, scenes of sexual interaction. Last one for this arc if I remember correctly. Warnings well be posted before and after the scene

Chapter 23

Breaking

To say everyone had fun would have been an understatement. Geki had returned with the tents and Gai had made a competition to see who could get the tents up fastest. Kakashi's team won of course.

They cooked their meals over small campfires and stayed up late stargazing and telling stories. Gai, Kakashi, Asuma, Shikaku and Akimichi just seemed to appreciate being allowed out of the house for a change.

They slept three to a tent with one tent having only two, as Akimichi was rather big and there were only twenty-three of them. Of course Kento, Inuki and Kiri claimed her. Geki had come and went to check up on them several times, as had the other guard assigned to Inoshi's cell.

The tents had been taking down the next morning, of which Gai had made another competition out of it. This time Kurenai won since Kento and Kiri decided to show the others just how it was done.

They cooked their food outside and spent the day playing various games until Geki had arrived to usher them all inside. Alara had returned at some point in the evening after dinner and reclaimed her charges.

The kids bade them farewell and asked if they were going to visit again. Alara had answered with a 'maybe' on their way out the door. Exhausted from all of the fun, the kids quickly fell asleep wherever they happened to crash.

For once they had peace and quiet. Even Gai had worn himself out and was curled in amongst the nest of kids. It was late, dinner had been eating half asleep and it was only a matter of time before everyone was separated once again.

The front door opened and Katsu walked in, looking back to normal. He closed the door quietly and joined them.

"Come." He commanded.

Kurenai weaseled her way out from Kento, Kiri and Inuki, who rolled over and grabbed Asuma instead.

"You three may stay until tomorrow." Katsu commanded.

Kakashi and Asuma nodded their heads and shared a concerned look with Kurenai. Gai continued to sleep oblivious to what was going on around him, as did the children.

Kurenai followed Katsu outside and across the lawn back to her house. The lights were out and Geki was clearly either gone or was already in bed. She sourly noted they had left dishes in the sink since she had left.

Katsu led her up the stairs to their room. She noted the room was lit with candles and that oil incense was burning on the dresser, filling the room with a pleasant scent. Katsu closed the door behind them, than turned to look at her.

"I wish to enjoy this night. It is in your best interest not to displease me." He commented.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She bowed slightly.

She still hated it, but she was use to his advances and touches by now. She did owe him for what he had let them do with the kids. She couldn't help but to think about Kento's comparison with this to cleaning his room and her own thought about how dirty his room was.

"_If it takes Kiba three years to reach his floor, to me this feels like taking ten." She thought, slightly amused at her own thoughts._

She had to do this right. This was a mission. The treatment of the children were her reward. Maybe she could turn this into a negotiation.

"Katsu-sama." She hazard.

"Hai."

"If I do this to your satisfaction, is it possible for Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma to see the children more often, maybe come over once a week? The children enjoy it."

Katsu smirked, took a step towards her, and caught her mouth with his own. She let him in and returned the kiss. It would only help her. Katsu pulled back.

"I wondered when you would figure this part out." He grinned. "Hai. If you please me this night, I will allow your friends to see the children once a week for three weeks."

Now it was a mission. Her objective had been set and the payment for a successful completion decided.

Hesitantly at first, she lifted her hands from her side and untied his belt, letting his kimono fall open. She untied her obi, folded it, and set it aside, letting her own Kimono fall open.

She pressed her body against his and caught his mouth with her own. He returned the kiss and moved his hands under her kimono to stroke her back gently. She did the same. She took several steps backwards, leading him to the bed where she noted he had massage oil warming.

Once her legs hit the bed, she moved her hands up and pulled his kimono off, leaving him standing before her naked. She removed her hands from his body, hesitated for a second, then allowed her own Kimono to fall to the ground.

She turned about so he was against the bed. Her mouth nibbled his neck and he sighed in pleasure. He sat down on the bed and moved about so he was lying on his chest, looking up at her expectantly.

She sat on the edge of the bed, brushed his hair out of the way, took some of the oil in hand, and set to work. She was by no means a specialist, she did have the basic training all kunoichi were required to take in manipulation and seduction, but Katsu seemed to enjoy it. He turned over when she was done and she started on his front.

She kept her eye averted as she worked. She may have to share his bed and he may change in front of her, but that didn't mean she had to look or enjoy looking. Eventually she ran out of oil and was finished.

(**warning**, sexual interaction next.)

Katsu was fully aroused by that point, had been for a while. Grinning, he caught her hand and pulled her down next to him. Generally she had straddled him since that first night, but it was clear he wanted something different tonight.

"This time, Kurenai-chan, I get the top." He whispered, voice husky with desire as he nibbled her neck.

She gulped and nodded her head. He rolled onto his side and she moved into the middle of the bed, lying on her back. She concentrated on watching the flames of the candles on her dresser reflect on the wall until he caught her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Do not avert your eyes from me." He commanded.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

He shifted so he was on top of her. She felt the first stirrings of panic at being pinned hit her, but quickly tossed them aside. She had bedded others in the past, others she had trusted so she was no stranger to being pinned. It was being pinned by an enemy that sent her into hysterics.

Her hands were free, that was the biggest difference and the thing that truly let her calm herself down. Katsu, for his part, waited for her to adjust to the situation before continuing.

His mouth continued to nibble on her neck before returning to her mouth. She let him in, returning his kisses willingly. He moved a knee between her legs and she obediently spread them to let him settle between them.

She felt her heart rate pick up again before calming down again. Once again he gave her a few second to adjust to the position before continuing. His entrance was slow and deliberate, giving her body time to adjust to him.

She moved her arms from her sides to wrap around his shoulders, gently stroking his back. She deepened the kiss, trying to do anything to distract her from what was going on else where with her body.

When he was fully in, he waited a few seconds, than began his strokes. She hated to do it, hated to give in, but they had made a deal. She obediently rose to meet him. His mouth explored her neck as one of his hands tenderly stroked one of her breast, the other being used to balance him.

Her skin started to tingle where his hands touched her. It had been so long that she hadn't recognized it as the feel of chakra. Her body went flush as whatever he was doing cause pleasure to race through her system.

"_Nani_." She thought in a shocked, pleasurable haze. "_What is he doing?_"

The hand that had been stroking her breast had moved down to her thigh. The tingling had started there. He moved the hand slowly up her thigh and then to her stomach, lifting his body up a bit in the process.

Her stomach tingled and she felt a wave of pleasure course through her like nothing she had ever felt before. She gasped in shock at the assault. His hand remained there for several seconds before it moved up to her breast again, stroking one, then the other.

He removed his hand after that, but the wave of pleasure in her body didn't subside. All rational thought was out the window. Her hands clawed at his back, no doubt drawing blood.

She gasped as a wave of such pure pleasure hit her that she saw white for several seconds. Katsu also grunted as he reached his peek. For a few minutes they merely rested, then he slowly pulled out of her and shifted to his side. He pulled her into his embrace and she didn't resist, still trying to figure out what he had done to her.

Other then the first time he had taken her where he had worked at it, she had felt no pleasure from bedding him. This time he had done something to her with his chakra that had caused her blinding pleasure like she had never felt before.

"You friends may visit the children on Fridays." He stated softly.

"Arigato, Katsu-sama."

His mouth nibbled her neck for a while before his breathing deepened and he fell asleep. It didn't take her much longer to follow him.

(End of warning)

Kurenai awoke the next morning to find she had the bed to herself. It was overcast, but not dark, indicating the cloud cover was not thick. She stretched and realized Katsu was gone and that the bed was all hers.

She noticed a note with a flower left on the dresser next to one of her kimonos, folded and waiting for her. She sighed and contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep, but decided against it.

With a sigh, she rolled out of the bed, noting the sheets were going to have to be washed, as they smelt like oil, as she did so. She moved the flower aside and took the note.

_That was a wonderful evening Kurenai-chan. As stated, your friends may join you and the children on Friday for three weeks in a row. I have been called out of town for two days. Please see that the children are well taken care off. I left some tokens with Geki for food. Please make sure either Geki or one of my men escorts you._

-Katsu-sama.

She set the note aside and grabbed the kimono. She wrapped it loosely around her before tiptoeing to the bathroom to take a long over due shower. She smelt like Inu, smoke, oil, and sweat.

She took a short shower, as the others would need one too to get rid of the smell from the campfire smoke and the dirt from their hair from rolling on the ground with the kids.

She stepped out of the shower and went through the rest of her morning routine, frowning when she noticed she was out of birth control pills. She dropped the bottle in shock when she realized she had gone three days without them before last night.

The first morning they had watched through the mirror she hadn't had time to take them. The second two mornings were spent at the hotel with the kids.

"_He didn't throw them out, did he?" She thought in shock. "I know Alara is using Inoshi for breeding purposes, but Katsu hasn't showing any interest in having a child. He would tell me, wouldn't he?" She thought desperately. "He respects me enough to at least ask or make his intentions clear doesn't he?"_

"_Alright. Calm down. It's all right. The medics said that these things are good for several days just encase if situations where we can't get to them arise. Everything will be fine." She thought, taking a few, deep, calming breathes._

When she had regained her composure, she finished getting ready for the day. Gai, Asuma and Kakashi had been returned first thing in the morning. The three of them were drinking tea and eating breakfast.

"Ohayo." She greeted them cheerfully as she took a seat at the table and Kakashi handed her tea while Asuma handed her breakfast.

"The kids were upset you were gone until we told them Katsu-sama had summoned you." Asuma stated.

"I hope they didn't think I abandoned them." She sighed. "Katsu-sama has giving you three permission to join us for the next three Fridays in a row."

"Really?" Gai asked, his eyes shinning in excitement.

"Hai." She answered.

"What did that cost you?" Kakashi asked.

"_Some days I really do hate his ability to see beneath the underneath._" She growled to herself. "That is none of your concern." She stated coldly.

No one said anything more on the subject, save for Gai who continued to go on about how great it was they could see the kids. Until Asuma finally shut him up.

"Katsu-sama will be gone for two days. He said Geki-san has food tokens so do we have any groceries we need?" She asked.

"Hai." Asuma answered, sliding a list across the table.

Apparently they had been busy this morning. Even the dishes she had noticed last night had been cleaned and put away. For that end she was really starting to enjoy this. All her meals were made and ready for her. She saw the kids every day. Now if she could just remove Katsu from the picture and add her chakra back life would have been perfect.

"I'll see if I can get Geki-san to escort me sometime today." She stated, glancing at the list as she ate her meal. _"And see if I can convince him to let me see Shizune or Kabuto to get more pills."_ She silently added.

She blinked when she noticed painkillers were on the list. She knew she had some left, she had seen them this morning.

"Oi, why do we need these?" She asked.

"Kakashi used the last of them four days ago." Asuma answered.

"You need something stronger, they didn't work at all." Kakashi commented.

"What are you two talking about? They work just fine and the bottle was… full… this… morning… Kakashi, you didn't take the pills in the red bottle did you?" She demanded.

"Hai." He admitted.

"Baka." She screeched. "Those were my birth control pills."

"Nani?" They looked at her shocked.

"Baka, baka, baka. Katsu-sama is gone for two days and I don't know when I will see Shizune to get more. For kami sake, if you don't know what it is don't take it." She screeched at them.

"Ah, gomen." He apologized.

"It's a little late for that." She barked.

She finished eating her meal and then stormed out of the house to work off her angry energy plucking weeds out of the garden at the hotel. The children joined her the moment they saw her and she couldn't remain angry for long with them around, though the doubt still lingered at the back of her mind.

"_At least Katsu-sama didn't throw them out." She thought in relief._

Three days without her pills shouldn't have an adverse effect on her body. It just meant her cycle was going to start either tonight or tomorrow morning now that her levels were no longer being controlled.

Now calmed down, she simply enjoyed spending time with the kids and cleaning up the garden.

"Kurnai-sensei." Kiri called.

"Hmm."

"Can we fix up the pond and get some Koi?" She asked.

Kurenai blinked. It was an interesting idea and it would give the kids an extended project and teach teamwork.

"Alright. Let's clean it out and I will ask Katsu-sama if we can get some when he comes back in two days." She agreed.

"Yeah." They cheered.

The girls spent the rest of the day picking out weeds from the surrounding flowerbeds and cleaning leaves and other debris from the water. They boys emptied the brackish water so they could fill it with fresh, clean stuff.

The pond had been a big one and it would take the two days to clean it up. Lunch was brought outside to them and they took a break to eat and discussed what kind of plants to plant along the pond.

They boys were more concerned about the idea of adding another pond on the other side of the garden and then connecting them with a stream. They would build a bridge over it for Kurenai-sensei and Katsu-sama to cross.

They continued to work until dinner when Kurenai returned to the house. Geki was there and she showed him the list and asked to go shopping. Unfortunately, he was too busy to escort her, as he was on guard patrol.

He promised to pick up some food on his way back but they were going to have to wait for Katsu-sama to get back before going for a large shop. She didn't argue. Katsu was gone and she doubted he would demand the use of her body while she was on her cycle so she had some leeway time before she would need to make it to the hospital to see Shizune.

(time skip)

The pond had been emptied and refilled. The flowerbeds cleaned and a few, new, flowers and plants, purchased by one of the female guards who had helped out on her spare time, had been planted. Granted the garden was still sparse looking, but it was an improvement.

The boys, after having finished emptying, cleaning, and refilling the water, had started to dig the second pond as if they had no doubt Katsu-sama would approve.

The female guard seemed to know a lot about ponds and was helping the boys plan everything out and would check on their progress from time to time.

Kurenai sat down with the children as they ate and admired their work. She was proud of them, but as usual her thoughts went back to her dilemma. It had been three days since Katsu had left and her cycle still hadn't started. Geki had said he would be returning first thing tomorrow morning. The first thing she was going to do was beg him to let her talk to Shizune.

"_It's nothing to worry about. I have skipped cycles in the past when I missed taking my pills. It happens." She reassured herself._

When lunch was finished, the girls marked the trail the stream would take and helped the boys start digging. They planned on having this pond system ready by the end of summer.

"_Has it truly been five weeks since the invasion? It is mid August already. In a few months the snow will start falling, not a good time for counter strikes. If Shikamaru and Temari-san don't make it to Suna soon, they are going to have to wait for spring." She realized._

Since she was wearing an expensive Kimono, she merely watched the children dig and get dirty. They were going to need showers again and Kurenai was glad the hotel had such a large hot water tank. They were going to need it.

The children had pretty much been ignoring her now that they had a task before them. When Katsu's guards returned, she left. She slipped out of the yard and back to the house. She passed a smile at the boys before grabbing a book and making herself comfortable.

She wasn't sure how late she read to, only that Kakashi was asking for his bed at some point. She blinked at him stupidly before realizing this was his bed and she retired to her own.

It was strange, but her bed felt rather empty without Katsu in it. She had grown use to sharing it and now it seemed too big when before she used to curse how small it was. She was asleep before she even realized her head had hit the pillow.

(time skip)

Morning came too quickly for her liking and she had a splitting headache. Grumbling, she dragged herself out of bed, threw on the first Kimono to come to hand, it turned out to be the one with the feathers, and made her way to the bathroom where she dug up some painkillers and swallowed two.

She walked down the stairs in a daze and nearly retched at the smell of breakfast.

"You aren't looking so well Kurenai." Asuma commented as he caught her as she tripped on the bottom stair.

"I don't feel so well." She agreed.

"Did you find a bottle of Sake and not share?" Kakashi demanded jokingly.

She sent him a glare that could have pealed paint and he wisely shut up. Asuma helped her to the couch where she lay down and clutched her pounding head. Her entire body hurt as if pins and needles were prickling her all over.

The front door slid open and Katsu walked in, looking a little tired, but otherwise fine.

"What's going on?" Katsu demanded when he noticed the situation.

"Kurenai is not feeling good." Asuma answered.

"Move aside." Katsu ordered.

Asuma moved to the head of the couch while Katsu kneeled beside her and took her wrist in his hand, measuring her pulse. He checked her eyes and temperature next.

"Headache?" he asked.

"Hai." She was in too much misery to add the 'Katsu-sama.'

"What else?" He asked.

"I feel light headed and like pins and needles are prickling me all over." She answered.

Katsu nodded his head.

"Asuma, carry her." Katsu ordered.

"Hai." Asuma answered as he picked her up bridal style.

"Where we going?" She asked in a daze.

"To the hospital to run some tests." Katsu answered.

Her head felt like it was swimming and it was way too bright outside. She threw an arm over her eyes to block the light and groaned miserably. Asuma carried her all they way to the hospital while Katsu cleared the path. They made it in record time.

"Kurenai." Shizune gapped when they walked through the door and Asuma set her down on a near by stretcher and hovered over her shoulder, worry clear on his face.

"Shizune?" She opened her eyes to find Shizune but the room was spinning too much. "Room spinning." She commented.

She felt the stretcher move.

"Symptoms?" She though that was Kabuto.

"She complained of headaches, nausea and that her body felt like it was being attacked by pins and needles." Asuma reported.

They finally stopped sometime later and she felt something like chakra run through her system and some of the pain alleviated.

"Feel better." She murmured.

"Right. Shizune…" That sounded like Kabuto again.

"Hai." That was definitely Shizune.

She heard the door open and close and then someone was helping her out of her kimono and into hospital clothes before getting her into a hospital bed, pushing the stretcher aside.

"Kurenai, talk to me. What's going on?" Shizune demanded in a hiss.

"Don't know. Feel bad. Out of pills." She murmured.

"You are out of birth control pills?" Shizune asked to clear things up.

"Hai. Kakashi ate them. Thought painkillers. Baka."

"How long ago?" Shizune asked.

"Week." She muttered.

"A week. Did Katsu…"

"Four night ago, maybe five."

The world was still spinning when she tried to open her eyes and her body still felt like someone was sticking pins and needles in.

"Have you had your cycle?"

"Ile." Kurenai answered.

The door opened again. Since her eye were closed she couldn't see who entered, but whoever it was Shizune was talking to them hushed and quickly. Kurenai just wanted to buzzing in her ears to stop.

"Kurenai, I am going to put you to sleep, okay?" Shizune asked.

"'kay." She muttered.

After several second her world went blissfully dark.

When Kurenai woke again, she was in a hospital bed with Katsu sitting on a chair next to her. Her world seemed sharper, more focused, and her body felt better then it had in weeks. It took her a moment to realize why this was.

"_My chakra. Some of it is back." She realized in shock._

She sat up, leaned against the backboard and glanced at Katsu, who appeared to be sleeping. The absence of light from the window showed it to be night time.

"_What happened? What is going on? I seem to be partially unsealed. Why? How did I get here?" She wondered._

Katsu stirred and blinked open his eyes before yawning and stretching.

"About time you woke up Kurenai-chan. Hungry?" He asked.

"Hai." She answered, realizing she was starving.

"I'll go find some thing for you to eat then. Don't move from that bed." He commanded.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

He left. After several minutes the door opened again and Shizune walked in with a plate of food and a grim expression on her face.

"Katsu-sama was called to an emergency, which is good because it gives us some time to talk." Shizune said as she set the plate down and took the chair Katsu had vacated.

"What happened? Last thing I remember is someone picking my up and carrying me somewhere." She asked, setting into the food Shizune had brought her.

"How long have you gone without your pills?" Shizune asked.

"Seven, maybe eight days." Kurenai admitted.

"When was the last time you and Katsu-sama did anything?"

"I was on my third day without them." She answered.

"And you didn't have your cycle?"

"I've missed it before when I missed taking a pill for whatever reason. The medics say those pills are good to up to three or four days." Kurenai pointed out, not liking where this conversation is going.

"The night he bedded you, did anything strange happen?" Shizune demanded.

"Hai. He did something with his chakra that sent waves of pleasure through me." She admitted hesitantly.

"Stomach to breast?" Shizune demanded.

"Hai. How did you know?" Kurenai asked, her meal forgotten half way through.

"Kurenai, that was a jutsu used to stimulate ones reception." Shizune explained.

Silence.

"Shizune, are you saying what I think you are saying?" Kurenai demanded in a whisper.

"The reason you got sick was because your body is trying to draw chakra it couldn't to support and start a new life. That is why Kabuto-san partially unsealed you. Right now it is just enough to leave you with a bit extra, but in another few months he will have to unseal more of you to support the growing demand this is going to have on your body."

"Shizune. Say it plainly." She begged in a whisper.

"Kurenai. You are pregnant. So is Alara-sama."

"Alara-sama. Than…"

"She finally got what she wanted." Shizune agreed. "She came in three days ago. Apparently she had been pregnant for a week or so, probably from before she left on that mission."

"Does Inoshi know?"

"Hai. I don't know about his wife though."

"What of Anko?"

"Still clean as far and I know. Kabuto-san and I don't plan on having kids any time soon. Maybe after the crisis is over." She admitted.

Kurenai clenched her hands, tangling up the blanket. What was she going to do? How could she tell the others? She couldn't even blame Kakashi since she had been hit before she had found out he had eating the rest of her pills.

She felt the first tear fall, followed by a second and third before Shizune moved the plate aside and hugged her, letting her cry all of her frustration out until she had no strength left.

"At least the children will be excited." Shizune tried, hoping to find someway to cheer her up.

"Hai. Kiri will be thrilled to see everything through her Byakugan. And Kento and Inuki will know how to recognize when some one is with child by scent." She agreed, trying to latch onto that to pull her out of her depression.

"The others will understand. You and they knew this might happen. Now that it has, you will just have to deal with it. I will help where I can and I know the boys will to." She promised.

"Arigato, Shizune."

Shizune patiently explained everything Kurenai should expect in her first trimester. Morning sickness was common and she should continue to eat normally and exercise normally. In short, she should just continue to live life normally, or as normal as it got in this situation.

Katsu and Kabuto arrived later, the emergency having been dealt with. Katsu took the chair again as Shizune joined Kabuto's side.

"What was it?" Shizune asked.

"Just some baka who landed on a stick and got it shoved into his lung. We pulled it out and healed the cut before bandaging him up." Kabuto answered.

Kurenai looked at her hands as she fumbled with them until Katsu caught them in his own. She stopped wringing the blanket. His hand moved from hers to her chin and he force her to look at him.

She didn't resist.

"The children will be thrilled." He commented, joy in his voice.

"Hai." She agreed solemnly.

"Do not be upset, Kurenai-chan. You knew when you accepted that collar this might happen." He stated.

Actually she hadn't thought of it until Inoshi had brought the subject up. Bed him, yes. Bare his child, no.

"Ah, you fear the others reaction." He guessed, moving from the chair to the bed and pulling her into his embrace so she was leaning against him.

Shizune and Kabuto excused themselves and left.

"You didn't even ask me." She stated once they were alone, the real reason behind her upset mood coming clear.

"Kurenai-chan, you seem to continue to forget that you are a slave, and that is mostly my fault as I treat you far too kindly. I do not need to ask you for anything, or make deals with you for that mater. It is my right to do with you as I please." He explained patiently, as if speaking to a child. "I could have forced this upon you the first day I saw you, but I didn't." He pointed out.

"The children want a koi pond." She stated out of the blue.

Her mind was in shock and she knew it, but for now she was content to stay in shock. Right now she wanted to think of anything but her situation.

"Do they?" He asked, willing to run with this new topic if it helped calm her down.

"Hai. They cleaned out the one already there and planted a garden around it. They started to dig a hole for another one and want to connect it with a stream and build a bridge over the stream so we can cross it." She explained.

Anything was better then thinking about her condition.

"We will have to go pick some fish out tomorrow than." He stated.

"Can we bring them out of the hotel?" She asked.

"Of course. I had a chat with the leader of Akatsuki. He said the fifteen children are all mine. No one can harm them. Akatsuki has no interest in them. The other children at the school have already been permitted to either go home or are fostered out."

"That's good. Kiri-chan and Kento-kun will be happy." She stated.

"Hai. They will be. You need rest, Kurenai-chan. We will talk more in the morning." He promised. "I am going to put you to sleep now, okay?"

"Okay."

(break)

Katsu formed several seals, than touched his fingers to her temples. Her world went black again as she fell against his chest. Katsu shifted their position and crawled under the blanket with her.

He held her tight against him, slowly letting his chakra leak into her system to help give her a boost since she had gone so long without it. He had noticed she hadn't taken her pills in three days and figured this would have been the best chance.

Her comment on having asked her first surprised him. He thought she would have been upset and horrified to find she was with his child, not that he hadn't asked for her permission first.

He did wonder what the other three were going to think about this. It would be troublesome if they decided to act out against him, but he doubted they would. As he had stated to her, they had known this day might come.

"_I shall have to get her an assistant for the children. Stress will not be good for her or the baby. Perhaps I will allow the other three over more frequently. I do own the entire lot of property so I have the power to give them free reign on it._

"_Should I tell the kids or should I let her? I think we will do it together. They are going to be so excited. Maybe I'll even let them come to the hospital when it comes time to do the ultrasound tests._

"_Hmm, I am getting ahead of myself. One thing at a time. I must remember to take things slow with her. She is new to this and I don't want it to be a bad experience for her. Her obedience is far better then I expected giving her bumpy past. That had been an unexpected obstacle that we have finally managed to hurdle._

"_Tomorrow, we will take the children out to pick a fish each for the pond. I think it would be a good idea to clean up the hotel. The children will be living there permanently now that I have secured them and know they are in no danger._

"_I like their idea of cleaning up the back. There is room for a gazebo and we can turn the one side into a garden with two ponds, a stream with a bridge, and a Gazebo in the corner with the back facing the fence. Some creeper vines will cover the fence nicely._

"_The project should keep the children distracted enough that she won't be under too much stress, and I know Kiri-chan and Kento-kun will look out for her. Maybe I should move the other three charges and Geki over to the hotel and move Kiri-chan and Kento-kun into the house, taking the spare room? I will have to think on that one. Maybe when she is further along and into her second trimester."_

Kurenai shifted in his arms, whimpering slightly and trying to curl up into a tight ball. He moved his hand from her stomach to her head and let the chakra flow there. After a few minutes she relaxed and started to sleep deeply again.

He returned his hand to her stomach and continued to feed her chakra until she was balanced and he was almost drained. Exhausted, he kissed her neck a few times before allowing himself to fall asleep beside her.

He loved the scent of her hair, the taste of her skin, the feel of her body. He was glad he had chosen her out of all the woman he could have chosen from with the information Alara had giving him from her initial scouting.

"_I do believe she was the one Alara-san had said would be best for me. Looks like she was right. I will have to find someway to pay her back. I shouldn't have doubted her in the first place. Alara-san is never wrong when it comes to gathering intel._"

* * *

It was bound to happen sooner or later. For the record, birth control pills are not a guarantee and women have gotten pregnant while taken them. Some woman take years to have a child after taking them so effects very.

So, should she have a girl, or a boy, or twins? I haven't decided yet. All I have desided on is that the child will be born, as well Alara's, though I am not sure if she should have a girl or boy.

Next Chapter; Embarrassing stores, another short story on the Shadow and the Desert Rose, a small fight, Temari and Shikamaru getting close.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 24

Across the Lake

"_Maybe we were better off on our own._" Shikamaru grumbled as he concentrated on holding the damn Ryouken no Jigoku with his _Kagemane no Jutsu_. "_What is taking him so long anyways?"_ He grumbled to himself.

Shikamaru was in a tree staring down at ten, snarling, clearly furious ryouken while most of the others were safe on an Island of Gaara's suna on the lake. Off in the distance he could see Keiji firing off his _Suiryuudan no Jutsu_ at the ones Kageko had snared.

Shikamaru glanced back to Sasuke, who was standing still on the water and concentrating on something, kami only knew what.

"_At this rate I am going to run out of chakra._" He grumbled

Finally, Sasuke started to form seals.

"_About time. This is way too troublesome_." He grumbled to him self as he got ready to drop his _Kagemane no Jutsu _the moment the water bullets would be too close for the Ryouken no Jigoku to dodge.

"_Suiton; Suiryuu Taiga_." Sasuke called out.

"_Nani_!" Shikamaru gapped as a large wave of water came flooding towards him.

He released his jutsu as the hounds and ground below him was flooded with water. The sound of yelping from behind him caused him to jump in shock as he turned around to notice another pack of the damn things being washed away by Sasuke's attack.

"_Bastard, he was waiting for them to come in range. Clever though, I'll give him that much._"

Once the water subsided, he left his post and ran to join the others, Kageko also emerging from her position.

It had been like this for four days. Either the Ryouken no Jigoku caught up to them and they would have to find the nearest source of water to fend the damn mutts off, or Kenari and her group caught up to them and they would have to fight their way free.

With such a large group moving, there was no way they could efficiently hide their trail for long and with so many civilians and children, it was impossible to move quickly. It was all very troublesome and very frustration.

That and somehow Temari continued to dominate his thoughts. Ever since their talk in the swamp she hadn't put her hair up at all and had even asked Ino to even it out so it was all one length. Apparently she was going to let it grow out some.

He liked the new look and cursed himself for even caring. However, since he valued his life and his head, he admitted he liked this better and of course remembered to make a comment that he had noticed the change. Years of dealing with Ino had taught him that if he hadn't she would have gotten upset and he did not want to see her upset. Far too troublesome.

"Not bad for a runt hiding in shadows." Kannon remarked as Shikamaru and Kageko approached the group.

"Keh, like you don't cower in them." Kageko countered.

"At least I face my targets." Kannon scoffed back.

"_Here they go again._" Shikamaru sighed inwards as Temari joined him.

"Nice work, Shikamaru-kun." She smiled at him.

"Arigato." He stated, just because he knew that if he didn't acknowledge that he had heard her, she would continue to yap at him until he did.

The two of them moved away from Kannon and Kageko, who were still bickering, to join Meiyo, Keiji and Tsume.

"Nice work, Shikamaru-kun." Ino grinned at him.

Ino had hardly left Keiji's side since the Uchiha boy had saved her. Unlike Sasuke, this one Shikamaru liked. Keiji was smart, witty, and polite. Totally opposite from the angst out, vengeance seeking, 'leave me alone in my world of hell' Sasuke.

"How much longer?" Shikamaru asked Meiyo.

"We have six more days in the least. I do not want to lead our pursuers to our camp." Meiyo commented. "Gaara, can you move this thing across the lake to the opposite shore?" She asked.

"Hai." Gaara answered and the island of suna started to move.

Meiyo sat down and her generals joined her. Shikamaru and his joined them.

"Alright, as you have probably guess we have been deliberately drifting off course in an attempt to shake our pursuers. This path has led us to be far to the southwest of a section of land that is youkai owned." Meiyo started to explain, drawing a crude map in Gaara's suna.

"We are going to have to go around these lands as to invade them would be to bring danger to them and the local Taiyoukai don't like disturbances. There is a river that flows from this lake that will cutback to cross our path after about a day's travel. We will have to travel east along the river bank, which will curve like a crescent moon, and follow it to where is enters this mountain range." Meiyo explained as she drew the map. "Our camp is nestled into a gully carved against the mountain on the other side of where this river is met by another. The river acts like a natural moat, preventing the Ryouken no Jigoku from crossing, but not their youkai masters or your human hunters.

"Now, when we hit this river, the youkai pursuing us will come no closer once the pick up the scent of the taiyoukai who owns the lands on the other side. Now this is very important; no matter what happens, do not cross the river until we get to the safe house. Youkai do not like invaders and they will kill all who touch their lands.

"Once we get to the safe house, we will rest for a few days before planning anything further. Agreed?" Meiyo asked.

"Hai." Everyone agreed.

"What kind of youkai owns those lands?" Naruto asked.

"Two of the most powerful taiyoukai to live in this part of the world." Uzumaki answered proudly.

"Genma-san, please pass this information on to Iruka-sensei to tell the kids. Naruto, tell the others not to cross the river." Shikamaru ordered.

"Hai." Naruto saluted as both of them left to do their assigned duties.

"How big is this safe house?" Temari asked. "We are not going to be a burden on you are we?"

"Ile. It is hard to describe so you will have to wait to see it." Meiyo stated. "Just remember not to cross the river for any means. It will be your death."

(break)

"You are getting better." Tenten commented as she and Temari stood on the end of the Suna raft, throwing kunai at the trees they were slowly approaching.

To Temari's delight, she was actually hitting the right trees. Short distances she had never had a problem with, even a child could hit a target four feet in front of them, but anything further and she tended to throw wild.

"We are out of weapons." Temari stated as the last kunai hit the tree she had been aiming at, if not the exact spot.

"Hai." Tenten agreed.

Now it would be her turn to be the teacher while Tenten was the student. Tenten had already learned the _Sunakunai _and _Kamaitachi_ jutsus.

"Alright, this next one is not only useful for knocking back attacks, but for spreading suna around to trip up your opponent. Watch carefully." Temari instructed as she drew her fan from its customary place on her back. "_Fuuton; Mugen Sajin Daitoppo._"

A large gust of wind flew forth from her fan and suna started to float on the water. Granted this wasn't the best place to show off this move, but it worked for now.

"Oi, Temari-chan you promised to show me that one." Naruto pouted as he joined them with Hinata.

"I did, baka." Temari stated.

"Oh, right. Hahaha, I knew that." Naruto laughed.

Hinata giggled from his side. "Naruto-kun." She sighed.

"Oi, Hinata-chan, want to learn to?" Naruto asked.

She looked up at him in surprise.

"It's easy, right Temari-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Hai." She agreed just to amuse him.

It was a hard technique to learn and had taken her four months. It had taken him three days. Naruto had been surprisingly adept at learning Fuuton jutsu's, and the suna ones Gaara had taught him. What Naruto had taught Gaara in exchange had never been made known to her.

Naruto was so full of life it was a wonder everyone else had any, or needed any, energy. How the boy could stay so hyper all the time was beyond her.

"Alright, ready to give it a try?" Temari asked.

"Wait, we need to show Hinata-chan first." Naruto said.

Temari sighed and drew her fan again. Naruto drew his and they stood side by side on the edge of the suna island.

"_Fuuton; Mugen Sajin Daitoppo._" They both shouted.

The water whipped up and frothed before them and suna was floating in the water before slowly starting to sink. The sun glittered off of it, blinding everyone.

"Oi, what are you two doing?" Tsume scowled as she joined them.

"Hahaha, Gomen. Didn't think that was going to happen." Naruto laughed.

Tsume shook her head in annoyance and Temari sighed in exasperation. Trust Naruto to show off in front of Hinata. Hinata did seem impressed, but also just as exasperated with him as they were.

"Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun never listens to us, maybe you can talk some sense into him." Temari grinned at the girl.

"Ano, I'll try Temari-san." Hinata promised.

"Ah-ah, any woman of Naruto-kun's must never add the 'san' to my name. Either 'chan' or nothing." Temari commanded waving her finger at Hinata with the other hand on her hip. "Any woman of my little brother is a sister to me." She finished.

"Temari-chan." Naruto chuckled nervously.

Hinata was blushing bright red.

"_Serves him right for that damn competition he and Ino-chan have going on. Granted it helps me, but still. I still owe him one for making me tell that damn story about the Shadow and the Desert Rose, and never mind that it helped to break the ice between Shikamaru-kun and I. I am still going to get him back for it. Hmm, I think I got a great idea for it._"

The grin that spread on her face caused Naruto to slowly start to back away from her. He knew that grin.

"Ah, Temari-chan…" He grimaced.

"Hinata-chan, did I ever tell you about the time Gaara and Naruto-kun spent a week training together to try and learn each others jutsus?" Temari asked.

"Temari-chan, you promised to never tell anyone." Naruto gapped.

"I promised not to tell anyone but your wife, and you are going to marry Hinata-chan if I have to tie you up and drag you to the alter." Temari waved his protest away.

Naruto stuttered, then finally gathered his thoughts.

"All right. If you insist on telling Hinata-chan about that, go ahead, but I'll just have to tell Shikamaru-kun about the time you got roaring drunk at Gaara-kun's Kazekage celebration." Naruto grinned back.

"Go ahead." Temari countered, not rising to the bait.

She had Naruto on the defensive and she wasn't going to let it up. Besides, knowing Kankurou he had already told Shikamaru all about it, or if he hadn't he would.

"Drunk?" Tenten asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Temari-chan can't hold her liquor." Naruto commented.

"Neither can you." Temari retorted. "At least my clothes stayed on." She countered. "Well, most of them." She amended.

"Most of them?" Tenten asked.

Hinata was definitely blushing now, but it was also clear she was very curious.

"Well, I suppose I can tell you this one." Temari admitted, sitting down.

Tenten, Naruto and Hinata joined her. Not one to be left out Uzumaki joined them, followed by Ino, who could never be left out of a gathering, and Keiji, who still hadn't left Ino's side.

"Alright, who wants to start?" Temari asked, looking at Naruto.

"I will." Naruto offered. "Alright, Ero-sennin and I had been traveling during my training and I wanted to see how Gaara-kun was doing so we stopped by Suna just in time to hear the announcement that Gaara-kun had been elected to be the new Kazekage.

"I came across Temari-chan at the market while looking for Ramen, which Suna doesn't have by the way. Has Gaara-kun fixed that?" Naruto asked.

"Ile, you're drifting off topic." Temari countered.

"Right, anyway Temari-chan told us about the ceremony and invited me to come. I had to bring Ero-sennin to since he was training me."

"That was a mistake." Temari interjected. "He chased anything with breasts and legs."

"Hehehe, well, anyway. I agreed to go. I had come to Suna to see Gaara-kun anyway." Naruto grinned. "He had changed so much since our first meeting."

"You changed him. You showed him a mirror to his soul." Temari stated seriously. "Same past, same pain. You showed him a side of the coin he had never seen before."

"Hai." Naruto agreed, then grinned, breaking the sudden serious mood. "But we were talking about his party. Now than, after some long winded, boring ceremony where some old cronies dragged on about stuff we all already knew about, what a Kazekage's position was all about and boring stuff like that, honestly I am surprised Gaara-kun didn't squish them just to shut them up, Temari-chan, Kankurou-kun, Ero-sennin, Baki-sensei and I took Gaara-kun out to celebrate.

"Now than, since Gaara-kun was Kazekage and a lot of the villagers still feared him, no one protested when Ero-sennin started to order sake." Naruto left off and Temari picked it up.

"Jiraiya-sama insisted we all at least have one to a toast in Gaara's honor. How could any of us refuse? This was for Gaara after all. After all the years of abandoning him and hiding in fear, the least we could all do was raise a glass in his honor.

"Well, one toast turned into two, then three, then I think we lost count. Sometime during the celebration Kankurou and Naruto-kun started arguing over some trivial thing, I can't seem to remember what it was, and they started taking their clothes off to prove a point.

"Then for what ever reason they decided to end the competition in a dancing contest and jumped up on the table. I think I vaguely recall not wanting to be shown up, but as far as I am concerned, if I can't remember it, I didn't do it. I think Gaara must have carried us all back on his Suna because we all woke up the next morning with the hangover from Jigoku." Temari groaned.

"I still feel bad about it. It was suppose to be to celebrate Gaara-kun's promotion to Kazekage, but in the end we all got drunk, Ero-sennin and Baki-sensei buggered off with some woman leaving us the bill, or rather Gaara-kun since we were too plastered to know up from down, and in the end he had to carry all of us home." Naruto admitted guiltily. "Nice place the Kazekage has though." He admitted.

"You stayed at the Kazekage's house?" Ino demanded in a squeal.

"Hai." Naruto grinned sheepishly. "You should see the training grounds. Amazing."

"Naruto-kun." Hinata sighed.

"Tell you after that I never looked at a cup of Sake again." Naruto finished.

"Yeah, now we know what kind of drunk you are. A crazy one." Temari laughed.

"You are just as crazy. I'll have to warn Shikamaru-kun." Naruto laughed.

"We need to get him drunk one day." Temari laughed. "Just to see what kind of drunk he is."

"Hai." Ino agreed, liking this plan and sharing a look with Naruto.

Operation; get Shikamaru drunk had just been set into the planning stages.

"While we are at it, we should get Hinata-chan drunk to." Ino whispered to Keiji.

He smiled in amusement, but didn't offer nor decline his support.

"Oi, we are almost to land. Everyone form up." Meiyo commanded.

"Hai." Came everyone's responses as they moved into position.

Naruto, Zihna, Keiji, Genma, Kiba, Akamaru, Tsume, Inuko, and Inuka raced across the water to scout ahead and secure the bank. The suna island reached the shore and everyone disembarked.

Temari glanced over at Gaara in worry and noticed he seemed slightly short of breath. It had taken a lot of control and chakra to control so much suna for so long. Kankurou was seeing to him so Temari helped Tenten pull their kunai out of the trees before falling into the formation they had set with Meiyo.

It never ceased to amaze her how such a large group could move in complete silence. Temari moved up to the front of the formation, joining Shikamaru near the front. Meiyo was in the lead with Tsume, byakugan activated and noses to the air.

Kiba and Neji took the rear seeing as how they didn't know where they were going. Hanabi, Hinata and Zihna were spread evenly through the line to cover as much area as possible with the byakugan.

Meiyo was amazing with her byakugan, making Neji look like a novice. She could hold it all day without showing any signs of stress. Her eyes were different too, that was the first thing Temari had noticed. Unlike the rest of the Hyuuga clan, she had four black dots in hers; one in the center and three smaller ones surrounding it.

"Shikamaru-kun." Temari whispered as she joined him.

"Hai?" He asked, glancing at her.

"What do you make of Meiyo-san's eyes?" She asked.

"Her eyes?"

"They are not pure white like a Hyuuga's." She pointed out.

Shikamaru looked ahead to where Meiyo was walking in front of them.

"Meiyo-san." He called.

"Hai?" She asked, not bothering to look back.

"Your eyes are different then a normal Hyuuga's why?" He asked.

"A gift from my mother." She answered.

The way she answered implied that no more questions would be welcomed on the mater. It was not rude or defensive, just dismissive.

"_A gift from her mother? They way she answered I can't tell if she likes or hates her mother. I wonder if she has other abilities she is withholding from us?_" Temari wondered.

They didn't move overly fast since the children were walking and many of the ones with Meiyo were civilians. They rested a few miles in from the lake, the sun getting low on the horizon.

"We will rest here tonight and leave at first light. As you saw during our crossing, the lake stretches for many miles in either direction. We will not need to worry about the Ryouken no Jigoku for a while. It is your human pursuers we will have to worry about. Hopefully they will not find us so quickly." Meiyo commented. "We will make the river tomorrow night and start traveling along it the next day."

"_So we will be at their base in just a few days. Thank goodness. I could use a shower; a good night sleep in a bed, preferably with Shikamaru-kun in it to keep me warm, and a nice, fresh, hot meal._" Temari thought dreamily.

She was covered in dirt, dried sweat, and grim. She had twigs and sap stuck in her hair, which was all greasy. And she was still covered in bug bites. She felt disgusting. They hadn't had a bath since their inadvertent dips in the smelly swamp, and she was sure she could still smell it.

Meiyo's group was far more prepared for an extended journey since they hadn't had to leave Seika in the rush Konoha and Suna had to leave Konoha. Temari dropped one of the traveling bags she had been carrying in a pile with the rest and started to help set up camp.

Tarps were strung to keep the rain off and shield the light of the fires. Pits were built for the fires, a latrine dug away from the camp to be filled in once they left. They all worked together and chatted pleasantly.

Temari took this time to gauge the situation and relationship levels between their party and Meiyo's. It was best to keep an eye open for trouble and deal with it before it exploded in their faces.

Keiji and Ino were working with Kannon, Choji, and Kageko to string up the tarp. Keiji and Ino got along great, as did Kannon and Choji. Kageko and Kannon kept arguing with each other and making snide comments, but there was nothing malicious about it. Meiyo had informed them that that was typical of the Yamanaka boy and Nara girl.

Tsume, Kiba, Inuko, Inuka, Akamaru, Hinata, and Zihna were patrolling a mile from the camp, as was Shino and Tomeo. She hadn't seen anything in that group to show there was no one they were getting along with everyone else.

Gaara and Meiyo were digging fire pits together in a companionable silence. Temari had to blink a few times before realizing that Gaara was actually using a shovel. A group of curious kids, both from Seika and Konoha, were watching. In fact, she had noticed the kids had been watching Gaara a lot lately. Not in fear, but in awe.

"Gaara-san?" One kid finally asked.

Gaara stopped and blinked at having been addressed, but did turn to face the little girl who had her hand raised.

"Hai?"

"Wouldn't it be faster if you used your suna instead?" She asked innocently.

Gaara continued to stare at her; clearly unable to comprehend why she would ask a question like that. Children never addressed him or asked him questions. They either stared up to him in fear or awe, more commonly the former. And most ran for the hills the moment they saw his suna stir, sure blood was soon to follow.

"Hai." He finally admitted.

"So why don't you?" Another boy asked.

"Controlling the suna takes chakra." He answered.

"Oh. You used all your chakra when you made that island." One if the kids clued in.

"Can you still do other stuff with it?" Another asked.

"Hai." He admitted.

"Like, build suna castles, and suna sculptures, and suna parks?" Another demanded excitedly.

Temari giggled at the flustered look on her younger brothers face. This was a new experience for him and he didn't know how to act. Children never asked him questions; they asked their parents when they wanted to know something about him. But here was this group of children, all of them staring up at him curiously and without a single trace of fear.

"Alright you little rouges. If you have time to ask Gaara-san questions, you have time to help set up tents." Meiyo interjected on his behalf.

"Awww." They complained, but did break up and help set up tents.

The Genin were out gathering wood under the supervision of a Chuunin or Jounin. The civilians with Meiyo were preparing the evening meal. Everyone put some effort into getting ready.

By the time it was dark, the camp had been set and everyone had eating and was sitting in a multi-layered circle around the main fire.

"Temari-san, can we call you neesan?" one of the kids from Konoha hesitantly asked.

"Of course." She agreed. "We are all family after all." She answered with a smile.

"So, if we can call you Neesan, does that mean we can call Kankurou-san and Kazekage-sama niisan?" Another asked.

"Hai." She agreed for them.

Kankurou glared at her, silently promising death later, but Gaara looked at her and the children in surprise.

"Temari-neesan?" Another called.

"Hmm?"

"Can you tell us another story?" The little girl asked.

"Hai." She agreed.

"Can you tell us another story about the Shadow and the Desert Rose?" Konohamaru asked.

Temari was startled at the request and felt Shikamaru stiffen beside her.

"Ile. I think it's Shikamaru-kun's turn." She passed the pressure on to him, turning to give him her most charming smile.

He looked like a trapped rabbit and kami knew how many sets of eyes turned to look at him expectantly.

"Alright, but you have to be in bed." He promised.

"Ya. Shikamaru-niisan is telling a story." Naruto cheered.

The kids, both from Seika and Konoha, quickly grabbed their blankets and nestled before him to the laughter of the teens. Once again Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Kankurou and Gaara (who was dragged in by Naruto again) were nestled in with the kids, but this time they were joined by Uzumaki, Ino, Keiji (who had been dragged in by Ino), Inuko, Inuka, and Niku.

(break)

"_This is way too troublesome._" Shikamaru groaned to himself, wondering how he had ended up in this situation in the first place. "_Temari had half the number of people listening when she told her story."_

It would have been more troublesome dealing with fifty or so upset kids, so he had relented. It was a good test of his abilities to quickly come up with a story. It wasn't too bad when he thought of it that way.

When everyone was ready, he began.

"The Shadow and the Desert Rose were running from the Asp and the Rising Sun when Temari left off." He started for those from Seika who didn't know. "While running from the Asp and the Rising Sun, they met many obstacles. Among these obstacles were the Hound and the Bear.

"The Hound was a skilled tracker and hunted the Shadow, Desert Rose, Trees, Fox and the sprouts they were protecting. Despite the effort of the Shadow, Desert Rose, Fox and the Trees, the Hound was able to keep track of them and continued to follow them.

"Following the Hound was a mean Bear, who wanted to hurt many of the Trees and Sprouts. When the Hound and the Bear caught up, there was a terrible battle and some of the Trees got hurt."

The children gasped.

"Are the Trees alright?" One from Seika asked.

"Hai. Among the Trees were two, rare Oak trees, who were able to heal the wounded Trees. They managed to escape from the Hound and the Bear, but the resulting battle brought them very far from home.

"They rested and recovered before continuing on their journey. The Hound and the Bear caught up to them again, but this time things didn't go good for them. They were separated and everyone was nearly defeated."

"What happened?" Another from Seika demanded.

"The Trees came from an ancient forest that had stood for many years, but they were too young to know that. The Fire Trees, relatives of the Leaf Trees, came to their rescue. The Hound and the Bear were chased off again.

"But the Fire Trees had their own hunters, the Fire Hounds. The Shadow and the Desert Rose decided that they would be safer if they joined the Fire Trees and the Fire Saplings.

"Now they are traveling together to get to a safe place to rest." Shikamaru finished.

Not as elegant or mushy like Temari's had been, but he wasn't a romantic at heart.

"Last time the Desert Rose and the Shadow were contemplating their feelings for each other. Has any of it changed?" Hanabi asked.

He could feel the pressure weighing down on him and he was all too aware of Temari sitting next to him. How he answered would determine rather he had a head in the next few minutes.

"It is hard to concentrate on a relationship when there is so much work that needs to be done." He sidestepped finally.

"But…?" Konohamaru pushed.

Shikamaru glanced at Ino and Naruto and noticed both of them were grinning up at him, clearly waiting for an answer. He had no doubt they were behind Konohamaru and Hanabi's questions.

"Even the sharpest thorns can be avoided and Desert Roses do have the sweetest scent in the world." He admitted. "But a flower blooms the best outside of conflict." He finished.

(break)

Temari felt like the world was falling around her. There was no other way he could have stated that he thought she was a strong willed individual he clearly thought was troublesome, while admitting he liked her and didn't want to get tied up in a relationship while there was so much going on around him.

"_Maybe once we get to this safe house we can work on the relationship more._" She silently thought.

She shifted closer to him until she was leaning against him.

"The problem with Shadows," she stated, drawing the attention to her, "is that they are shy and need a lot of coaxing to get to come into the sun. Desert Roses love the sun, so the Desert Rose isn't going to give up until the Shadow has at least tasted the Sun. If the Desert Rose can do that and get the Shadow to admit rather the Shadow likes the sun of not, than she will leave the Shadow alone.

"The Asp, the Rising Sun, the Hound, and the Bear don't stand a chance against the combined might of the Fox, the Shadow, the Desert Rose, and the Leaf Trees. So the saplings should go to root and get some rest. You never know what tomorrow will bring."

"Hai. Goodnight Temari-neesan." They all chorused, except for Gaara and Keiji.

The kids broke up and wandered to their respective tents, chattering sleepily about the story, the Konoha kids filling the Seika kids in on the parts they had missed from the first story.

Temari glanced at Shikamaru, who was in the processes of trying to hide a yawn.

"You are tired, little Shadow." She giggled. "You should get some rest."

"Hai." He agreed, knowing it was better then to argue with her.

They stood up and retreated to the tent they were sharing with Naruto, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura.

Temari spared a glance over her shoulder and three out of four of their tent mates gave her a thumb up and a smile. She grinned back. Shikamaru was all hers. Sakura would stand aside and not interfere, even if she didn't entirely agree. Even with the addition of Meiyo's gear, they still had to share sleeping bags.

Shikamaru had giving up trying to sleep on top of the bag and giving her the full inside. She had smacked him up the side of the head one too many times when he tired that argument.

The tent was only large enough for them to kneel in. They both took their jackets, sandals and pants off, leaving their shirt and under clothes on. She glanced at Shikamaru and noticed he was rubbing his neck again, a sure sign of the stress Sakura had warned her to keep an eye on.

"Take your shirt off." She commanded.

"Nani?" He asked confused.

"I said take your shirt off or I will do it for you. Unless that is what you want?" She asked with a smile.

Grumbling about how troublesome she was, he complied.

"Good, now lay down." She commanded, finding the jar she had been looking for in her bag. "_Arigato Chiyu-chan._" She silently thanked.

He looked at her in surprise, but didn't protest when he noted she still had her shirt on.

She kneeled next to him and opened the jar, letting the sweet smelling ointment permeate the air of the tent.

"What is that?" He asked.

"Relax, it's just a muscle relaxant." She answered, brushing his hair out of the way before taking some onto her hand. "Your neck and back are bothering you again, aren't it?" She demanded.

"Hai." He admitted.

"Then just relax and let me do something about it."

She spread the ointment across his back before she began to work it in. He was tighter then she had first thought. She worked them harder, using every once of skill she had learned over the years to help deal with her own headaches after becoming a representative of Suna.

Shikamaru sighed under her work and mumbled something she didn't quite catch.

"What was that?" She asked sweetly.

"Feels good." He mumbled louder.

She chuckled, than moved from his neck to his shoulders, then slowly down his back. By the time she had stopped, he was sleeping soundly. Grinning, she wiped her hands on a spare cloth and put the ointment away.

Hesitating only briefly, she took her own shirt off and manoeuvred a semi-awakened Shikamaru into the sleeping bag before joining him. Hesitating only briefly, she kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight, little Shadow." She murmured as she curled up against him, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers. _"He's going to freak when he wakes up."_ She thought with a grin.

She was asleep by the time the others came in, curled against his back with one arm holding him against her. The ointment sure smelt nice and the vapor from it was so soothing and relaxing.

* * *

So far the only one vote for Kurenai's child, that of twins. Next chapter; Kurenai breaks down, the children get their Koi, the boys find out what made her sick.

Nikki; You are going to have to let me see said illustrations. I can't draw worth feces.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

(you know; one day I will get my fics mixed up and write Inuyasha for my Naruto one and vice versa)

Koi: a type of gold fish that grow up to two feet long. They are the ones you tend to see in ponds in movies and shows and come in many different colors and patterns. You can get them from you local pet store for your ponds. They originally come from Japan as far as I know.

Gomennasai; a very formal sorry, translates better as; I beg your pardon.

Chapter 25

Koi and Acceptance

Kurenai woke slowly, noticing immediately that she wasn't in her bed at home. It took her a few seconds to remember what had happened the day before. When she did, she felt like crying all over again.

Katsu was sleeping next to her in the small bed, arm wrapped around her waist and nose buried in her hair. She wanted to get away from him and briefly toyed with the idea of pushing him out of the bed and on to the floor in a hopefully painful way.

"Awake, Kurenai-chan?" Katsu whispered into her ear.

How in the seven hells did he always wake up before her, or at least at the same time?

"Hai." She answered.

"Feel better?" He asked.

Katsu shifted behind her until he was resting his head on his other arm so he could look down upon her. The hand that had been resting on her hip was slowly starting to rub her stomach.

"Hai." She answered.

"Good." He purred, kissing her neck a few times. "I trust I don't have to tell you that the use of Jutsu's is forbidden and will be severely punished should you attempt to use them?" He stated.

"Hai."

"Hai…?" He asked firmly.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She amended.

She hadn't felt this downed out in ages. She just wanted to curl back up and go to sleep, hoping to wake up again and find out it had all been one messed up dream. She was on the verge of crying again.

"Better." He kissed her neck again.

She wanted him to stop. She wanted to get away from him. She wanted to run away and find some place where she could hide and cry until she was so immersed in her misery that the world didn't matter anymore. Above all, she wanted to get roaring drunk and bitch to high hell with Anko and Shizune to release some steam before she exploded.

"Leave me alone." She grumbled, pushing him away from her. "Just, for once, please leave me alone."

She stood up, not caring in the least that all she was wearing was hospital clothes with the back wide open.

"I am going to go find Shizune, get a good bottle of Sake, and pretend none of this ever happened." She grumbled as she made her way unsteadily towards the door.

She didn't quite make. Her legs gave out and she stumbled against the door, using it as a support. She was breathing heavily at the small amount of effort it had taken to get there, but she wasn't going to give up.

She forced herself back to her feet, opened the door and walked through it. She stopped on the other side, silently praising herself for the accomplishment of her self-set goal. Then her legs gave out on her again and she fell back.

She expected to hit the floor, but that didn't happen. She looked up to see Katsu, who had caught her before she could fall. He looked half angry, half amused.

She turned her gaze aside. If he thought she was going to thank him he had another thing coming. She was just sick of bending over for him, sick of seeing him, sick of obeying him, and most of all, she was just plain sick of him.

"I can walk on my own." She protested.

"Iie. I don't think you can." He corrected, helping to steady her.

"Ohayo, Kurenai, Katsu-sama." Came a cheerful, male voice.

Kurenai looked down the hall to see Shizune and Kabuto approaching them.

"Shizune-chan. Just who I was looking for." Kurenai grinned, pushing away from Katsu and making her way unsteadily towards Shizune. "Find us a quiet room and a bottle of sake. I want to get drunk, so drunk that I don't care about up from down."

Shizune caught her as she stumbled the last few steps.

Kabuto raised an eye in surprise and shared a confused glance with Katsu. Kurenai was most definitely not acting herself.

"Kurenai, it is o-eight hundred. It is way too early to start drinking." Shizune tried to reason with her as she helped steady her.

"Don't care. I want a drink damn it and so help me I am not going to stop until I find one. I am sick of this. Sick of bending over for Katsu, sick of being manipulated into positions I don't like, and just generally sick of everything that has gone on. I want to get drunk and forget about it all for once."

She was almost crying again.

Kabuto left Shizune's side and joined Katsu's.

"I think she is suffering from shock and denial." Kabuto stated. "She should be fine in an hour or so. I suggest we let Shizune calm her down."

"Hai." Katsu agreed.

Kurenai was crying now, clutching onto Shizune as if the woman was her only lifeline in the river of life.

"Shizune." Kabuto called.

"Hai, Kabuto-sama?"

"There should still be a bit of Sake in my office. Give her a cup or two to calm her nerves down." He ordered.

"Hai."

Shizune helped Kurenai get back to her feet and steadied her as they walked down the hall to the nearest elevator to get them to the top floor where all the offices were. In Kurenai's current condition, she wouldn't be able to handle stairs.

Shizune helped her into a chair in an office that could only belong to Kabuto judging by the pictures of him and Shizune. Kurenai was surprised to note some of the pictures even had Kabuto and Sasuke and there was even one with Naruto in it.

"I am sorry for doing this to you Shizune." Kurenai apologized as Shizune handed her a cup of warmed Sake, watered down with the hot water she had boiled to warm the sake.

Her hands were shaking slightly and she sipped the hot liquor. Shizune had made sure it was too hot to gulp at once.

"That's alright. In all honesty I was wondering when you were going to have a nervous break down. Poor Anko had hers a month ago."

"How is Anko doing?" Kurenai asked.

"Much better after Kabuto-sama had a talk with Orochimaru-sama. Orochimaru-sama has calmed down and returned to his patiently waiting mood. She's looking better and doesn't jump at shadows anymore. And she is sleeping at night."

"That's good. Did Nara-san come in for injuries?"

"Iie. Why would he have?" Shizune asked, taking a cup of her own and sitting in Kabuto chair.

"He was limping and walking stiffly after Alara-san branded Yamanaka-san. I assume he did something rash and she punished him for it." Kurenai explained.

Her hands started to shake less and she felt herself calming down. She was pregnant, but she could deal with it. The children would be excited and, as she had learned last night, they were completely safe now. She frowned at that thought.

"I have no reason to be obedient now." She mused aloud.

"Hmm?" Shizune asked confused.

"The only reason I had bent over for Katsu was because of the fact that he was protecting the children. Now that the leader of Akatsuki has giving him full rights to the children they are no longer in danger and I have no need to be obedient to him anymore." She explained.

"Kurenai," Shizune sighed, "you don't seem to fully understand just what the collar means. The moment you put it on you agreed to belong to him. Anyone else would have already beaten you into submission, not made deals with you. Katsu-sama could beat you to within an inch of your life and no one would or could do anything about it. Please reconsider.

"If the children saw that Katsu-sama and you were fighting the children would get worried and upset. It is clear they respect Katsu-sama and you and it would tear their little hearts to have to choose one of you. It is clear Katsu-sama truly loves them. I don't think it is too much to ask for you to live with it when the children are the ones that are going to get hurt." Shizune pointed out.

"They want a Koi pond so they cleaned out the one in the back yard." Kurenai took another sip of her sake. "They want to make two ponds and connect them with a stream and then build a bridge over it so Katsu and I could cross it."

"And?"

"Katsu likes the idea. He promised we could go and get some koi later today to fill the pond."

"See? He loves those kids. It's all he talks about when he's at work."

"Hmm?"

Shizune smiled.

"When Katsu-sama is here at work, all he talks about all day is how the kids are doing and how much they adore you, and how much he enjoys you."

"He talks about that here?" She demanded in shock.

"Iie, Iie, not that kind of enjoyment. I meant how much he enjoys spending time with you and the kids. He asked for time off to help them work on a project last night. I can only assume he is talking about your koi pond." Shizune explained.

"He asked for time off?"

"Hai."

"I see."

This news took her by surprise.

"You should have seen how excited he was when he found out you were with child. He didn't expect this to happen so soon. He merely meant to start reducing and eliminating the effects of the pills from your body. Sometimes it can take months to eliminate the effects, and the pills aren't a guarantee anyway." Shizune pointed out.

"So he never meant for me to get pregnant?"

"Will, I am sure he did, just not so soon. He transferred a lot of his chakra to you yesterday."

"He did?"

"Hai. At least you know any child you have he will raise with love and respect, unlike Yashero-sama or Orochimaru-sama." Shizune pointed out.

Shizune had a point. Katsu loved children and she had no doubt this child would be raised kindly if the occupation lasted long. Considering where Shikamaru and the Kazekage-sama were, it was going to take a long time for anyone to return.

Kurenai finished her sake, feeling much better and more relaxed. Katsu wasn't really hard on her. She could live with it, and she would. She had fifteen children to raise, soon to be sixteen.

She still had to tell Asuma, Kakashi, and Gai. No doubt they were worried about her since they hadn't seen her since she had been rushed to the hospital yesterday morning.

She frowned as she tried to think of a way to tell them.

"How am I supposed to tell the boys?" She asked.

"Let the kids do it." Shizune suggested. "They can't get mad or upset at the kids."

"I like that idea." She grinned.

She stood up and stretched, feeling much better.

"Let's get us back to your room, showered and dressed." Shizune suggested.

"Sounds good. Then I would like something to eat. I am starving."

Shizune laughed and the two of them left together, this time taking the stairs.

Dressed in her feather Kimono and once again and feeling refreshed after the shower, Kurenai followed Shizune on her rounds. Kiba's sister was completely healed, just still in coma.

Most of the people in the hospital were the elderly who were expected and the odd injured Genin from trying to do something they could no longer do without their chakra. A few were from normal injuries and sickness.

The hospital was rather quiet now that almost everyone hurt during the day of occupation had recovered and been sent back out to the field. Most of the damage had been fixed and the Genin were now set to basic tasks such as watering the city plants, cleaning leaves out of the gutter, and other normal missions they would have had to do under the supervision of many off the Chuunin and Jounin from the four mercenary groups.

Those of Chuunin level had been permitted to return to the academy and continue lessons. Things were slowly returning to normal if you counted out the fact that Konoha was under enemy control and that the shinobi had their chakra sealed.

She met up with Katsu at lunch and he led her out of the hospital and back to the hotel. They walked in silence for many minutes before she broke it.

"Gomennasai, for my attitude this morning, Katsu-sama." She apologized.

He glanced down at her before returning his attention to the lead.

"It is I who should apologize."

She glanced up at him in shock.

"I didn't think you would have taken it so bad. I should have made my intentions clear. I made the mistake of assuming you understood your position and all it entitled. I am far to lenient with you Kurenai-chan. We will tell the children together." He smiled.

"Hai." She agreed. "Ano, Katsu-sama?"

"Hmm?"

"When I am further along I will not be able to handle all fifteen children."

Katsu smiled.

"I have already considered that. When you enter the second trimester I will move your friends to the hotel and they can care for the children. I was thinking of moving Kento-kun and Kiri-chan over to the house. They seem like the type to help out."

"I would like that." She agreed.

"Then I will make it so if they can show they can handle it." He promised.

"Arigato, Katsu-sama."

The hotel came into sight. The kids swarmed them the moment they walked into the room.

"Attention." Katsu snapped.

The children snapped to attention and lined up.

"Alright rouges, Katsu-sama promised we could get some koi for the pond." She smiled at them.

The resounding cheer was heard a block away.

"But," Katsu called their attention again, they instantly went silent and looked up at him expectantly, "first we have some important news to tell you."

"What is it Katsu-sama?" Kiri demanded.

Katsu smiled.

"First off, you are all mine now so you will be able to leave the hotel, supervised of course. This means you can actually come with Kurenai-chan and I to pick out the koi you want." He explained.

The kids cheered again, jumping up and down in excitement before calming down again.

"The other news is one Kurenai-chan is going to tell you about." He smiled at her.

Fifteen pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly. She gathered her courage, and told them.

"I am going to have a baby." She stated.

Stunned silence. Then another course of cheers and a flow of questions. When was the baby coming? Was it a boy or girl? What were they going to name him/her? And other such questions.

"The baby will come some time in May. We don't know if it is a girl or boy yet and won't be able to tell for some time yet. We haven't picked out any name yet, but I promise you can help." Kurenai answered as soon as Katsu had them all calmed down again.

"Now than, shoes and jackets. It's raining out and no one wants a flu." Katsu ordered.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." The children chorused as they ran to get ready to go before lining up before them again.

"Alright, everyone pick a partner and follow me in a double line. Kento-kun, you can have Inuki as your partner and walk behind Kurenai-chan and I."

"Hai."

"Arf."

Once the kids were lined up they headed out. The children were excited at finally being able to leave the hotel for the first time in six weeks. They were well behaved considering.

They arrived at the shop selling Koi with no incident. The children rushed to the big tank and started ohhing and ahhing over the fish. The lady who walked up to them smiled in amusement at the children enthusiasm.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Hai. The kids may choose one koi each." Katsu answered.

She smiled as she joined the kids, who all wanted to catch their own fish. The woman was patient with them and handed each of them a plastic jar and a lid with holes punched in the top before handed the first one a net and supervising them to make sure no fish landed on the floor.

(break)

Kento and Kiri had opted to go last and were looking at the other tanks.

"Oi, Kento-kun, look at these two." Kiri called.

Kento and Inuki joined her at the large tank holding two big koi.

"They are pretty." Kiri stated.

"Hai." Kento agreed.

"Katsu-sama and Kurenai-sensei don't seem to be picking out a koi. I think we should get these two for them. They are bigger then the rest. It would be like having two adults taking care of the kids." Kiri explained in joy.

"How would we get them home without them seeing though, and how would we pay for them?" Kento asked, glancing over to make sure Katsu and Kurenai weren't paying attention to what they were scheming.

"We could ask the lady to hold them and get Geki-san to pick them up." Kiri suggested. "I bet he would pay for them to if we asked him nicely."

Kento seemed to think and Inuki cocked her head and looked up at her master.

"I like it. We need to find a way to distract Katsu-sama and Kurenai-sensei so we can ask the lady without them noticing."

"Arf." Inuki barked.

Both children looked at the pup, than grinned.

"Right, let's do it." Kento smirked.

Inuki started to bark, then run around. Kento chassed her, than they bolted out of the store. As predicted, Kurenai ran after them and Katsu used his Chakra to get ahead of and catch Inuki, who barked innocently and licked his nose.

While the two adults were distracted, Kiri ran up to the lady and quickly asked her if she could hold the two big koi for Katsu-sama and Kurenai-sensei as a gift from the kids. The lady smiled and agreed. Now all they would have to do was find a way to ask Geki-san to help them.

Kiri thanked her, than took the net from one of the others to catch her fish. Kento joined her with Inuki sitting on his head. They shared a grin indicating they had succeeded in their mission.

(break)

"I swear that pup is far more trouble then Akamaru ever was." Kurenai sighed as Kento walked passed her to join Kiri in catching their fish.

"Pups will be pups." Katsu smiled.

The children all had their fish and Katsu left several token for the lady, who thanked him. The kids all thanked her and lined up again before heading back home.

"Oi, Katsu-san." Came a female shout.

"Hello Alara-san." He greeted.

Alara was walking down the street with Inoshi by her side.

"Good after noon Alara-sama, Yamanaka-san." The children chorused.

"Field trip?" Alara asked with a grin.

"Iie, just getting some koi for the pond." Katsu answered.

"I see. Shall we watch the mirror tomorrow evening?" She asked.

"Hai. It has been a while since we last check up on them."

"I will see you then. We must get going."

"I am sure. Good day, Alara-san."

"Good day Alara-sama, Yamanaka-san." The children chorused again.

"Good day." She grinned at them as she continued down the road.

Inoshi hadn't looked any different from any other time she had seen him. If he was taking the fact Alara was with child badly, then he wasn't showing it. He had smiled at the children, but hadn't spoken.

They made it back to the hotel without further interruption. As explained, they floated the cups in the pond for five minutes before letting the koi free. Ramen was waiting for them and the kids eagerly sat down at the table to eat and warm up.

Kurenai ran upstairs and returned with towels to dry everyone's hair off. Inuki had to wait outside until she brought a towel big enough to wrap around the pup and dry her off.

Katsu returned to work and the children thanked him before he left. He merely smiled at them before leaving. It was too wet to work on the ponds today, so they opted to make thank you cards for Katsu.

Kurenai brought out some paper and crayons. They spent the afternoon drawing and making cards.

"_Shizune is right. The children respect him too much for me to start being petty about this relationship. I can't do anything to upset them. This won't kill me; just drive me insane. I can deal with this. I am not alone. I have the kids to support me and I know the boys will help however they can._" She thought lightly as she doodle on a piece of paper.

Dinner came and went and she gathered all the artwork the kids had made for Katsu before wishing them goodnight and tucking them all into bed. Kento and Kiri had giving her a card to give to Geki and made her promise not to read it. She was curious, but not devious enough to break her promise.

Asuma, Kakashi, and Gai pounced on her the moment she walked in the door, demanding to know if she was all right as Geki wouldn't tell them anything.

"Oi, can I get through the door and sit down?" She demanded.

They let her in and they all sat around the table in silence.

"What's with the cards?" Kakashi asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"The kids made thank you cards for Katsu-sama for letting them get koi for the pond." She answered.

"Are you feeling alright?" Asuma asked, concern clear in is voice.

"Hai. I am fine."

"What was wrong with you?" He asked.

Kurenai sighed.

"My chakra was trying to be drawn, but since it's sealed it couldn't be drawn and it made me sick." She explained.

"Why would your Chakra start trying to be drawn?" Gai asked in confusion, but judging by the grim looks on Asuma and Kakashi's face, they already suspected.

"In order to support a new life, chakra is often drawn from an outside force, right?" Kakashi stated.

"Hai." She admitted.

"Is this my fault?" Kakashi asked.

"Iie. Well, maybe. If you hadn't eating the last of my pills I might have miss carried and never knew." She admitted.

"So you are with child then?" Asuma asked, his voice unreadable.

She nodded her head.

"Kabuto partially unsealed me so I won't get sick again and Katsu has been giving me some of his own chakra to help keep me balanced. Shizune offered to get me some books on what to expect and she already told me the basics." She explained.

"This is great." Gai exclaimed, jumping out of his chair and punching a fist into the air.

Asuma and Kakashi shot him a look that went right over the enthusiastic man's head.

"The children must be thrilled. Nothing beats the amazing vital spirit a new born has." Gai continued.

"Good, so I can leave dipper changing to you than?" Kurenai asked.

"Ah…"

"And since you are so geared up to be a big daddy, I can leave the feeding, burping, and nap rocking to you?" She added.

"Ano…"

"Great to hear it." She smiled.

"You walked into that one." Kakashi stated with no feelings of pity.

Asuma remained quiet. Kurenai glanced at him. He seemed caught between fury and joy.

"What do you think of the situation?" Asuma finally asked her when he noticed she was looking at him.

Kurenai sighed.

"I don't particularly like it, but I do know Katsu won't abuse this child. The children are excited. Nothing can be done about it but to see it to the end." She answered.

He nodded his head.

"You have our support no mate what you decide to do." Asuma promised.

"Arigato. Support is what I could really use. I am not happy at Katsu for this, but it can't be undone. I don't want this child to be raised the way Naruto was, which may happen once Konoha is free."

"We will make sure it doesn't." Gai proclaimed.

Kurenai had brought up a problem none of them had thought of. What would happen to the children born in a situation like Kurenai's would be? Once Konoha was free how many new citizens would be a result from the invasion and what would the others think of these outsiders.

"We will deal with that when and if it arises." Kakashi promised.

"Arigato." She smiled at them.

"Now then, why don't you tell us what you and the rouges did today?" Kakashi suggested in an attempt to change the subject to something less depressing.

Glad to have something else on her mind, she told them all about their trip to the fish store and just about her day in general. Geki joined them at one point, when she hadn't quite noticed. She passed him the letter Kento and Kiri had writing for him and he read it, rising an eyebrow and smiling at whatever they had writing to him.

He tore the letter up when he was done and she looked at him in surprise.

"Just following their instructions." Geki explained to their looks of shock. "Since they couldn't get exploding bombs to make the message self-destruct, they asked me to destroy the evidence."

"Oh." She was suddenly curious as to what Kento and Kiri had writing to Geki, but wouldn't go back on her word to try and find out. Whatever it was seemed to amuse Geki to no end.

One thing she had noticed was that Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Geki all seemed to get along fine. They played cards together, ate together, and even talked together.

Katsu arrived some time later, looking exhausted, no doubt due to the fact that he had offered her so much of his chakra. He didn't even greet them, just stumbled up the stairs to their room.

She hesitated only briefly before gathering the cards and pictures the kids had made, excused herself from the discussion, and walked up the stairs. She slid open the bedroom door and noticed Katsu was sitting on the bed and rubbing his shoulders in clear pain.

He looked up at her in surprise as she entered, then glanced at the clock before looking back at her. As a general rule she never came to bed until the last second or if he forced her to early. For her to volunteer herself before the dead line was a first.

"The children made these for you." She stated as she walked up to him and handed him the cards.

He smiled in amusement as he took the pile from her and started to go through them, reading each one. She sat beside him on the bed; amazed he was actually taking the time to read them.

"You helped with their spelling?" He asked.

"Hai." She answered.

He didn't even reprimand her for not adding the 'Katsu-sama' at the end.

"I would like you to continue with their lessons starting in September. Let them finish the project they are working on first. It is a good learning experience for teamwork. You may teach them some shinobi arts, shiruken and taijutsu. Your friends may assist you."

"Hai."

He stood up and set the cards on the dresser before turning to look at her.

"Out of all the kimono's I picked out for you, I like that one the best." He commented.

She did like this one the best as well. The feathers reminded her of Genjutsu, her specialty.

"But as much as I enjoy seeing you in it, I much prefer seeing you out of it." He commented.

She didn't need an explanation for that. She stood up and started to undress for bed, neatly folding the kimono and putting it away. She hadn't worn clothes to bed since the first time he had forced her to sleep without them. Even when he had been gone she hadn't bothered.

By the time she had put her kimono away, he had already prepared himself for bed and was waiting for her. He had taken to taking the wall on most nights after learning of her fear of being pinned.

She joined him in the bed, not surprised when he pulled her into his embrace and started to lay kisses on her neck. Instead of stroking her breast, he rubbed her stomach and she felt the familiar tingle of chakra as he checked her flow before turning it off.

"Everything seems to be flowing fine, and you are starting to get a small amount of reserves back. The child won't start demanding a lot of your chakra until the eighth and ninth month.

"Depending on you obedience, I may ask Kabuto-san to completely unseal you then. It would be more efficient then to continue to feed you my chakra. This will work for the first three months until the child truly starts to develop. Then I will have Kabuto-san unseal you a bit more.

"If you start getting sick from chakra deprivation again, let me know immediately. It can be harmful for both you and the child. If I am not around, you have my permission to go to hospital and let Kabuto-san, your friend, or myself know. I do not want to risk harm coming to you or our child.

"If you don't have the strength to get to hospital alone, let Kento-kun or Kiri-chan help you. If they cannot, then one of your friends may, but only as a last resort. It would be better to get a passing civilian to help you.

"Your third to sixth months will continue to draw more chakra from you and I will ask Kabuto-san to continue to unseal you as needed. It is during this time most of the chakra sickness will probably hit.

"I trust Shizune told you what to expect out side of the chakra drawing?"

"Hai." She admitted.

"Good. If the smell of breakfast starts making you sick, make the boys wait until after you have left and joined the children before cooking."

He stopped his lecture to kiss her several times, nibbling on her neck.

"I want this to go as smoothly for you as possible." He purred into her ear. "I wish no harm to come to you or our child."

"I will get to see and keep him or her right?" She asked, the sudden fear of giving birth just so Katsu could take the child away from her suddenly hitting her.

"Do not fear, Kurenai-chan, you will be permitted to be a part of our child's life." He assured her. "As will the other fifteen children. It will be a good learning experience for them."

She relaxed. He had no plans to take the child and leave.

"Do you have any children?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Iie." He answered. "Not by blood anyway. I have many through adoption, but they are all grown up and on their own. Most of my village is made up from orphans found wandering the streets and brought in. Did you know Kabuto-san was once from my village?"

"Iie." She admitted, surprised at the news.

"His parents had both been orphans and he had been raised in my village for many years until his parents were killed in a mission near Konoha. We almost recovered him, but he had been adopted by a medical specialist family and seemed happy enough so we left him be. It is through him that Orochimaru-sama found us, and thus Akatsuki."

"What of Alara-sama, Kenari-sama, and Yashero-sama?"

"All three are mercenaries for hire. Yashero-san volunteered for this mission when it was brought up. He always did have something against the Inuzuka family.

"Kenari-sama comes from the North of Fire Country where she generally sold her services for tracking and hunting. I have hired her a few times to find my prey so I recommended her to Akatsuki.

"Alara-sama and I have been hired together in the past when information gathering was what was ordered. I will not deny that my villages knowledge of medicine and human physiology gives us a deep understand of how the body works, making us deadly in torture and we have been hired for such jobs in the past, but we do not target nor practice on children.

"Alara-sama seems to know one of the members of Akatsuki and was hired through that member."

Katsu had shared a lot of information with her, and she was surprised by it. Granted the information didn't do her a lot of good in their current situation.

"It is getting late. Go to sleep Kurenai-chan." Katsu ordered. "You had a long, stressful day."

He kissed her neck a few more times, then nestled himself against her before closing his eyes and evening out his breathing.

Kurenai followed his example. It had been a stressful day and they would have to get up early to use the mirror technique in the morning.

* * *

Next chapter; More embarrassment for Shikamaru and the start of a long battle that will run from several angles for the next four chapters. 

Not too much lovy dovy stuff left. In fact, not a hell of a lot of this part of the fic left. It's only 32 or so chapters long. The updating for the fight may be slow as I am trying to make it all work out smoothly. Big thanks to those who reviewed.

Some one told be that it was Iie and not Ile for no. I can't remember what fic the review was for, but thank you and I have changed all future referance and will change the past ones when I edit the fic upon its completion.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

Chapter 26

Embarrassment and Running

Shikamaru woke slowly, the sound of the others breathing reaching his ears, letting him know they were still asleep. Temari was nestled against him, resting against his chest with one leg thrown over his and clutching him like a giant teddy bear. Her skin was soft against his and he could feel the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He was absently stroking her back when the fact that he could feel her skin hit him. He froze.

Gulping, he slowly lifted the blanket to notice that Temari was shirtless and in bed with him. A quick check showed that they were still somewhat covered, of which he was thankful for.

Temari shifted against him, hugging him closer as the cold air assaulted her body from him lifting the blanket cooled her down. He quickly let the blanket fall back on them to prevent her from waking up.

The last thing he remembered was her rubbing that sweet smelling ointment into his back and neck to help alleviate the tension that had slowly been growing there. He recalled it had felt quite good to and absently contemplated getting her to do it more often.

His hand started to stroke her back again completely of its own free will. He tried to stop it several times, but the moment he was distracted it would start again until he just gave up trying to fight it.

"_Damn this is so troublesome._" He grumbled to himself. "_Troublesome, but pleasant._" He finally admitted to himself. "_Like bothering to get up in the morning, but being rewarded with a spectacular sunrise. Or going through the trouble of walking down the street to buy Choji lunch, but being reward with his gratitude and friendship._"

He resigned himself to the situation. He had no doubt Temari had done this so he doubted she wouldn't get upset when she woke up. Giving her reaction last time, he had no doubt she would want to stay in bed and cuddle for a while either.

Fortunately for him, this time there were time limits as to how long they could stay in bed. He felt Temari shift against him again and he looked down to see her blink her eyes open to look up at him.

"Ohayo." He greeted.

"Ohayo." She smiled back. "How long have you been awake?" She demanded, not shifting from her position at all.

"Not long." He answered.

"Good. You needed a good nights rest." She did shift now, politely removing her leg from being wrapped around his, but the rest of her remained flushed against him. "It's cold this morning." She commented.

"Hai." He agreed.

It was rather chilly. The sound of rain could be heard pattering against the tarp strung over the tent and he had no doubt it was going to be a wet morning. Hopefully it would clear off by noon.

She nestled right up against him, shivering slightly, to the point she was almost trying to crawl under him. Her teeth were starting to chatter now. She was from the desert and he had no doubt that if he found it chilly, she must be absolutely freezing.

He hesitated only briefly, weighing the consequences of this action. If he did this, there was no going back, but a gentleman couldn't sit back and let a woman freeze. He shifted around until he was on his side and had her nestled against him, using his own body heat to keep her warm.

She was completely shocked, of that he had no doubt. She had instigated all intimate positions in the past. He had never done anything so troublesome as to instigate one on his own.

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you freeze?" He explained to her stunned silence.

"If I knew freezing was what it took, I would have dragged us to the arctic." She grinned.

"Keep it down you two." Came a sleepy mumble from one of the other lumps of blankets.

"Naruto-kun." Temari sighed. "Go back to sleep." She commanded.

They glanced over to the shadow of blankets that was Naruto and Hinata. Those two had been sleeping together since Naruto's declaration of love. They still both wore clothing to bed. They may love each other, but both were still shy about doing anything too intimate as neither one had any experience.

Hinata was curled up against Naruto and still sleeping deeply. Naruto had one arm wrapped around her possessively as if he feared someone would try and take her away. It was a defensive action that both of them recognized as his innate fear that anything he cared for this deeply would be taken away from him.

Naruto grumbled something, but did pull Hinata tighter against him and closed his eyes again. In moments his deep breathing let them know he was sleeping again. Hinata shifted slightly at Naruto's disturbance of her, but didn't wake up. She just nestled closer against him now that her body was starting to register how cold it was.

A glance at Ino and Sakura showed that they were all curled up and nestled back to back under the blankets, using their breath as a natural heater.

He felt Temari shift against him and he looked down at her to see her eyes were closed again and her breathing was starting to get deeper, indicating she was falling asleep again.

In his distraction he hadn't noticed that that troublesome hand had been rubbing her stomach when he hadn't been paying attention. He felt a sudden urging to glue it to his side or something before it got him into trouble.

He forced himself to stop, but soon enough he was at it again. He sighed in exasperation and just gave up. Apparently his body wasn't going to obey him. It never seemed to when Temari was around. It started to do strange things and he started to think very troublesome thoughts.

Eventually he drifted asleep again too.

(break)

Temari woke up the second time that morning, a little dazed and realizing she was nestled up against something warm and that something warm was all but laying on top of her, providing her the blessed warmth she was curled against.

Her foggy mind started to clear and she recalled waking up the first time, though it was still a bit of a daze. A glance around showed everyone still sleeping in the same positions as the last time she woke up.

Behind her she could hear Shikamaru's even breathing, indicating he was still asleep. Which explained why his hand was absently stroking one of her breasts. She had no doubt in her mind he would never do anything like that if he were awake.

She grinned as all the possibilities came to her. She wasn't upset in anyway. It's not like she had never had a man touch her like that before. She was just surprised that body shy Shikamaru would dare to even in his sleep.

She felt him stir behind her and his breathing picked up. She knew he was waking up and started counting to see how long it would take him to realize what it was he was doing.

"Ohayo." She greeted him warmly when she heard him yawn slightly from behind her.

"Ohayo." He greeted back.

Ten seconds and he still hadn't noticed.

"Sounds like it's raining." She commented.

"Hai. It is going to be a wet morning." He agreed.

Twenty-five seconds.

"Think it will clear up later?" She asked.

"I hope so." He answered.

"Good. I hate rain. It's wet, it's cold, and it finds you no matter where you hide." She grumbled.

Fifty seconds.

"You seem to like bathes and showers." He countered.

"Warm, can be sweet smelling and full of bubbles, and escapable." She explained.

Over a minute and he still hadn't noticed. She wondered how long she could continue to distract him before he noticed.

"Once we get to Meiyo-san's base, we should probably rest for at least a week and gather provisions. I think it would be best if we ask her to take us to Seika so Gaara can negotiate for help and thank their Seikage personally." She suggested.

"A good idea. Seikage-sama might be able to help us get back to our own continent, maybe provide funding for a boat or help us get back through the portal. But we shouldn't count on it. Meiyo made it sound like they were under siege and clearly couldn't afford to send any experience Jounin with them. We have Genma-san, and I have a feeling that is all we are going to get." He pointed out.

"Hai." She agreed. "But Meiyo's group doesn't seem like a lot of pushovers. Maybe they can help us."

"If that is the case, we are going to have to spend more time training together. The fights we have had so far have primarily just been skirmishes thanks to the advanced warnings we have received, but that won't last forever."

"It would also be best to train our group what to expect out of the desert a bit more. Ino, Choji, Shino, Hanabi, and Konohamaru have never been that we know of and Kiba, Hinata, Tenten and Lee had been only briefly and on the border.

"Hanabi and Konohamaru?" He asked.

"We are taking them with us. Both have done well and Konohamaru is the grandson of your Sandaime Hokage. That may give him some political power with the Seikage. Hanabi's byakugan has been a great asset and she is stronger in the Jyuuken art then Hinata is." Temari explained.

Shikamaru had no argument for that.

Over ten minutes and he still hadn't noticed.

Naruto started to stir again, resulting in Hinata waking up. The Hyuuga girl woke with a yawn, than quickly blushed when she realized how tight of a hold Naruto had on her.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan." Temari greeted her.

"Ohayo Temari-chan, Shikamaru-kun." Hinata greeted them.

Naruto yawned and stretched as he woke up before hugging Hinata against him again.

"Ohayo." He greeted everyone.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered slightly.

Naruto grinned and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before crawling out of the blankets and getting his jacket and shoes on. Hinata went even redder.

"I am going to go find us some tea and food." Naruto promised.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun." Hinata thanked.

Ino and Sakura woke up next. Both girls were a little groggy and in downed sprits when they heard the sound of the rain hitting the tarp.

"I hate rain." Ino sighed.

"You aren't going to melt." Shikamaru sighed in a way that had Temari thinking this was an old argument between the two former team mates.

"Iie, but you get mud in your hair and you get wet, and cold, and miserable." She grumbled. "And I have first patrol." She added with a curse.

Ino crawled out of the bed and got prepared for the day, cursing how cold it was before passing Naruto at the tent flap, who handed her a cup of tea as they passed.

"Arigato." She thanked him gratefully.

Naruto delivered one to Hinata, than Sakura next. It was only when Shikamaru went to take his that he finally realized what he had been doing. His entire body froze in shock and he must have made one hell of face because Naruto suddenly was looking at him curiously.

"What's wrong, Shikamaru-kun?" Naruto asked concerned.

"Nothing. My cold feet just touched him." Temari answered innocently as she took the two cups of tea from Naruto and set them down before shifting in the blankets so she was sitting up and facing Shikamaru, back facing the others and giving Shikamaru a full view of her almost naked body.

His mouth was gapped open and he looked like a landed carp.

"Here." She handed him his tea.

He took it but didn't do anything after that. She picked up hers and took a sip, eyes closed in bliss as the warmth flooded her.

"Oh close your mouth before a fly flies in." She smiled at him. "You look like a baka."

His mouth snapped shut and he actually blushed and averted his gaze. She could feel the other three watching them and wondering what was going on.

"Oi, are you blushing Shikamaru-kun?" Naruto asked.

"Iie." Shikamaru answered and took a sip of his tea, trying vainly to regain his composure.

"You are so cute when you blush." She whispered with a grin. "You know it took you over twenty minutes to notice what you were doing."

His blush deepened and he had a look of horror on his face.

She leaned in until they were almost nose-to-nose and the only way he could have escaped was to go through the tent wall.

"Arigato." She smiled and then planted a kiss on his forehead before sitting up strait again and finishing her tea.

He was bright red and trying to hide it. He was so cute when he blushed it made her want to giggle, but she forced herself to spare him the indignity of it. The others remained quiet, though she knew Naruto was silently cheering her on and Ino would curse for having missed the show.

They finished their tea and got dressed before helping the others pack up their gear and the tent. Gaara had his suna up in a ceiling above him and all of the bags were being left next to him to keep everything dry. The children were sitting at his feet huddled in their jackets and showing no fear of him whatsoever.

Breakfast was a warm porridge that was handed around to everyone in the bowls they were forced to share. No one complained.

If it was one nice thing about rain, it was that the world always smelt fresher and sharper. It was the only thing about it Temari liked. The smell of the forest after a rainfall was one of the most amazing things she had ever smelt.

Meiyo went over the terrain with them again, reminding them not to cross the river, before they set out. So far there had been no signs that their hunters had found them and that wasn't surprising giving the amount of lakeshore that was going to have to be searched.

As predicted, the rain let up at noon and a bit of clue sky peeked between the clouds promising a break in the rain. They stopped for lunch just past noon.

"Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata-chan, and Shino." Temari called.

All four came up to her. Off to the side Meiyo had also called four of her warriors to her.

"Let me guess, we get back trail checking?" Kiba asked.

"Hai." She grinned at them.

"Alright, but we better get double the portions for lunch." Kiba grumbled.

"Kiba-kun." Hinata sighed.

The four of them joined up with Keiji, Kannon, Kageko and Inuka.

The six humans quickly discussed who was going where, then set out.

"I see you still have our old teams memorized." Shikamaru admitted.

About time he talk to her. He hadn't said a word since the tent to her all day. On the funny side he kept blushing whenever she threw a glance his way.

"I did have to memorize them for the invasion and Chuunin exam." She pointed out.

"True. He admitted. "Ah, Temari, about earlier…"

"If I didn't like it you wouldn't be standing here now, so quit antagonizing over it. You have got to be the straitest male I have ever met. Most of my interest couldn't wait to get down my skirt. You I have to drag."

He looked at her in shock.

"I guess that's just one of the many things I love about you. I wasn't lying when I said the Desert Rose wouldn't give up until the Shadow tasted the sun." She grinned at him.

"Oi, save the bed talk for the bed." Naruto interjected.

"Yeah, I don't think Shikamaru-kun can go any redder." Ino added with a giggle.

"All this over cold feet." Naruto sighed.

"Shikamaru-kun got cold feet huh? Amazing considering how much time he spends lying in the sun all day watching the clouds drift by." Ino played off of Naruto.

"Oi, leave Shikamaru alone already." Choji interjected.

"Arigato Choji. At least I know I still have one friend left." Shikamaru thanked him.

"Oi, Temari, have you seen Gaara?" Kankurou asked as he joined them.

"Iie." She admitted, looking around for her younger brother.

"He's been missing since we stopped." Kankurou complained.

"He's over there." Naruto pointed to a cluster of children.

"With the kids?" Kankurou demanded in disbelief.

"They ambushed him the moment we stopped and asked him to make suna sculptures. He tried to get out of it but I pointed out how good it was for practicing and training his control." Naruto explained.

"Gaara is playing with children?" Kankurou demanded again, his voice clearly displaying his shock.

"Hai." Naruto answered.

"Gaara is in that mess of children and there is no blood flying?"

"Hai."

"I need a drink." Kankurou muttered as he wandered off.

"Is that the truth or were you just getting him riled up?" Temari demanded, also not believing that Gaara could possibly be in that group of children.

In answer, Naruto walked up to the group of children and worked his way into the center. Temari could only watch in shock as Naruto bent down and lifted a stunned Gaara into the air to the squealing delight of the children.

"Look what I found. Can I keep it." Naruto shouted in joy.

Temari could have fainted. Kankurou did. The children howled in laughter, and even a few of the others laughed.

"Naruto, if you don't put me down, I will kill you." Gaara stated calmly.

"He's such a spoil sport, isn't he?" Naruto asked the kids as he set Gaara back down on his feet. "Bet he hasn't been able to make a full park yet." Naruto challenged.

"Why would I make a park?" Gaara asked.

"Because it is A) good practice at you control, B) good training at your ability to keep a complex shape for extended periods of time, C) parks are fun, and D) because I suggested it." Naruto answered.

"Park, park, park." The children started to chant.

Gaara glanced down at them, over forty pairs of eager eyes shinning in delight looking up at him in expectantly.

"I almost miss the days when others feared me and ran for their lives." Gaara grumbled, but his suna did stir and start to mold itself.

He did make a park, a small one, but a park nonetheless. It was about the size mice would use, but the detail was amazing and even Naruto had to admit he was impressed. Temari was stunned her brother had that much control over his suna.

She had been worried about his comment on missing the days he had been feared, but she saw a hint of a smirk on his face and knew he was joking. Somehow Naruto was always able to be so open with him and it never angered him.

"Oi, Kankurou, you can wake up now." Shikamaru called to her fainted brother.

Kankurou cracked an eye open.

"Everyone is still alive." He marveled.

"Only because Naruto-kun was the one who did it." Temari pointed out. "For kami sake you look ridiculous. Get off the ground already. At this rate Meiyo's group is going to wonder how we made it this far without killing ourselves."

"I don' think so. Look at Uzumaki and Niku. I think they know what it is like dealing with crazy people." Ino pointed out.

A glance showed that Uzumaki was rolling on the ground with Inuko and Tsume laughing at them. Niku was being fended off by Tenten, who was defending Neji again, without looking like she was defending him of course, with him trying to pretend he wasn't hiding behind her.

They shared a look, than burst into laughter. In all the time Temari had traveled with Neji, she had never seen him so flustered.

"Next time I will ask Neji to scout our rear guard." She chuckled. "If only to save him from Niku."

"Great, who's going to save me from you?" Shikamaru muttered.

"Did you say something Shikamaru-kun?" She asked sweetly.

"Iie." He denied

"So Ino-chan, you seem to be getting along well with Keiji." Temari smirked.

"He did save my life." Ino pointed out.

"And the fact that he looks like your childhood crush with a better attitude doesn't help any?" Choji asked innocently.

Ino levelled a glare at him.

"Oh?" Temari asked.

"Like every other girl in our group, Ino had a thing for Sasuke." Choji explained.

"Sasuke huh. Granted he was strong and determined, but far too angst out for my liking." Temari stated.

"You like Shikamaru-kun, that's saying a lot about your taste in men." Ino countered.

"Oi." Shikamaru protested.

"Nani?" Ino asked.

"You don't have to make me seem bad or something." He grumbled.

"Shikamaru-kun has his qualities." Temari defended.

"Like what?" Ino challenged.

"Oi, this isn't necessary." Shikamaru tried to protest.

"For starters he is extremely loyal, even if he is lazy and unmotivated. When he does decide to do something, he does it all the way. He doesn't just rush blindly into things and he cares about everyone, even if he doesn't like them much." Temari stated as if counting facts. "He thinks of others first before himself."

"He is lazy, unmotivated, and hardly up there in the looks department." Ino scoffed.

"Oi." Shikamaru tried to protest half-heartedly.

"Most so called good looking people tend to have attitudes that are far too vain for their own good." Temari snorted. "They spend so much time thinking about their looks and worrying about their image that they tend to forget what is important in life."

"So what is it about Shikamaru you really like." Ino demanded.

"I love his intelligence and loyalty to his companions. I love how he treats all fair even if he doesn't like them. I love the way he doesn't give up and puts all of his concentration into the task set before him." She answered without hesitation. "To him it isn't the out side that maters it is the inside. That is all that matters to me."

Ino was grinning. Temari blinked then suddenly realized that Ino had baited her and she had fallen for it. She glanced at Shikamaru, having totally forgotten he had been standing beside her.

Ino grinned at her before walking away to help Tenten fend off Niku and defend Neji, who was continuing to pretend he wasn't hiding behind Tenten.

"Tied score." Choji commented.

"Tied score?" Shikamaru asked.

"Four points for Naruto and four points for Ino." Choji explained as he left the two of them alone, making his way towards the nearest source of food.

Temari glanced at Shikamaru, who was still staring at her wide-eyed.

Temari blushed, than mumbled some excuse about checking on Gaara before wandering off. Shikamaru came to one conclusion. All right, he came to two. First, what Temari loved about him was all of the qualities he would have labeled for himself if asked and forced to answer. But more importantly, he came to the conclusion that Temari was very cute when she blushed.

(break)

The forest was relatively quiet around him, but he didn't drop his guard. Meiyo trusted him and his team to get the job done and so help him he would never fail her. Kageko was off to the right with Hinata and Inuka. Shino and Kiba were to his left with Akamaru. Kannon was sitting next to him, completely unconscious, at least his human body was.

A brown falcon was sitting in the tree above his shoulder, eyes staring intently at him.

"Ready to go than." Keiji asked.

The bird chirped in agreement, spread its wings, and took to the sky. Keiji threw Kannon's body over his shoulder and followed the bird.

"Damn you're getting heavy Kannon-kun." Keiji sighed. "Carrying you around is getting difficult. Kageko-chan is right, you weigh a ton."

The falcon in the air continued to fly above him, circling the sky. Keiji chuckled when he remembered how long it had taken Kannon to get use to that view. His body had been sick no few times during the years of training to perfect this.

Spinning around in a circle had made him sick and unable to walk strait for several minutes. Of course he and Kageko had to clean up the resulting mess. It was no wonder Kageko and Kannon argued so much, though when they combined their skills it was enough to stop even him when used in ambush.

Kageko and Kannon may fight and argue, but they always put that aside when the situation deemed it. It may get annoying when the two of them fought, but he could have ended up with worse teammates, like Nikuyaku for example. He was offensive, they were defensive.

His head snapped to the air in shock as the falcon gave a scream.

"_Kannon._" He thought worried, but the falcon was still spinning in the air and let lose another scream. "_Shit, they caught up to us already._" Keiji cursed.

The falcon dived and landed in the tree next to him.

"Go and warn Meiyo. I will carry you back." Keiji ordered.

The falcon nodded its head in agreement and took to the sky again, flying as fast as possible back the way they had came. The falcon screamed again, but this time in pain.

"_Kannon_!" Keiji silently shouted in worry.

Blood began to poor down Kannon's arm. Keiji pulled out his field kit and quickly wrapped the wound up before racing back to Meiyo. Kannon hadn't returned to his body so Keiji assumed he was fine to continue the mission.

"Oi, what's going on?" Kiba demanded as he, Shino and Akamaru joined him.

"Kannon spotted the enemy." Keiji explained.

"So that was what the falcon's scream was about." Shino stated.

"Hai. As we already explained to Ino-chan, Kannon can use his _Shintenshin_ on animals, birds being the best. He is on his way now to warn Meiyo." Keiji explained.

"What about Hinata, Kageko, and Inuka?" Kiba demanded.

"Kageko and Inuka would have heard and recognized the warning. We have been a team for over four years." Keiji answered.

"They are on their way back to the camp." Shino stated.

They traveled in silence for several minutes, than Kannon began to stir.

"Kannon." Keiji called.

"Ow." The blond haired boy complained.

"Are you alright?" Keiji demanded.

"Hai. One of those bastards got my wing with a needle. Doku-kun put the falcon to sleep and Chiyu-chan is caring for it, least we can do for getting the poor thing wounded." Kannon reported.

"What are our orders?"

"Meiyo wants us to get back to meet up with the others and take rear guard. Everything is packed up and they are on the move already. Shino, Temari says you can show us the way even if Inuka and Akamaru lose the trail." Kannon reported.

Keiji set his teammate down and Kannon began to run on his own, though he clutched his shoulder in clear pain as he did so. A glance on the back trail showed that Kannon was leaving a trail of blood the scent hounds Kenari used would easily be able to track.

"Kannon, you are bleeding badly and leaving a trail. Go ahead and get Chiyu-chan to treat you." Keiji ordered.

"Damn useless bastard, always slowing us down." Kageko cursed as her group appeared.

"Keh, at least I found them, unlike you. You are utterly useless if you don't have a shoji board in front of you." Kannon countered.

"At least I don't leave trails of blood leading right to us." Kageko countered.

"At least I got everyone warned instead of wasting precious time looking for seventeen layers of traps."

"I wouldn't have announced my presence to the enemy in the first place. I would have flown to each group and warned them."

"That isn't how a falcon behaves baka. They would have known right away. It was only a lucky guess that they hit me." Kannon countered.

"Oi, enough." Keiji interjected. "Kannon, get going. The rest of us will cover the rear."

"Hai." Kannon saluted as he ran forward to catch up with the main group, still clutching his wounded arm.

The cut was deep and Keiji wondered if the bird Kannon had used would even live. Chiyu would care for it to the best of her ability, but if Kannon was bleeding this much, the bird had to have been badly injured and Kannon had only antagonized the wound by force flying to Meiyo before releasing the jutsu.

Inuka and Akamaru suddenly started barking. Normally Inuka would have shouted the warning, but he found it hard to speak when running full bore and tongue lolling out of his mouth to keep cool.

"Shit." Kiba cursed. "They are right behind us." He reported.

"_Byakugan_." Hinata activated her bloodline ability. "Ano, there are ten Inu and four people in my immediate range about one mile back." She reported.

"Anything further?" Keiji demanded.

"Hai, lots of others. I can't get an accurate count, but they out number us. I see Kenari-san and Yashero-san." Hinata suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" Shino asked.

"I see two people wearing the black and red cloaks of Akatsuki. They have their hats on so I don't know which two they are." She reported.

"Process of elimination." Shino commanded.

"Hai. Ano, they aren't short. One has a wrapped sword on the back and is considerably taller then the other."

"Kisame." Shino stated, recognizing the description easily. "What of the other?"

"There is nothing to distinguish him or her." Hinata reported.

"Shikamaru and Temari mentioned that this Akatsuki of yours moved in pairs. They said that they only knew four members. If I recalled correctly, the partner to the one called Kisame was Itachi." Keiji stated, Meiyo having filled him in.

"Itachi?" Kiba asked in confusion, not recognizing either name but the way Keiji had said them let the boy know something bad was up.

"Uchiha Itachi." Shino explained. "ANBU captain by thirteen. He is strong."

"Sasuke's older brother." Kiba finally clicked in. "The one who slaughter his entire clan? That man is behind us?" There was no doubt the hint of fear in Kiba's voice.

From what little Meiyo had a managed to learn from Temari and Shikamaru, Itachi was not a man to be messed with. Even he would stand no chance with the back up he currently had, even with the mastery he had over his Sharingan. Kisame alone they might have been able to handle, but another user of the Sharingan, a full user of the Sharingan, would be too much.

"Traps." Keiji ordered calmly.

They came to a halt and quickly set some traps before running again. It wasn't much, but it just might buy them some time.

"Hinata, I need you to scout ahead. Meiyo is most likely bringing up the rear and she will be able to see us. The moment you see her, do this with your hands." Keiji ordered as he showed her to clasp her hands together with fingers pointing down.

"Hai… I see her." Hinata reported a few seconds later. "She has returned the signal."

"Good. Meiyo is going to start setting traps. Everyone get up to the highest branches. Hinata, Akamaru, Inuka, keep sharp. We don't want to be hit with friendly wires and fire." He ordered.

"Hai." Everyone responded as they moved further up.

"Ano, Kannon was with them." Hinata reported.

"Arigato." He thanked her.

He had been worried about his friend and was glad Hinata had laid that worry to rest without him having to ask her. Personal feelings were not welcomed on the battlefield, but they were, after all, only human.

* * *

There is still lots of time to vote for Kurenai's child. Lots of time come to think of it. Well, the next few chapters will be the fight from various angles. The shinobi from Seika and Konoha will exchange skills when they get the time to.

This will probably be my last update for the year. Where I am at doesn't have internet and I am busy as heck. I hope everyone has a good Christmas or whatever your equitant may be.


	27. Chapter 27

-1Disclaimer; don't own Naruto

Chapter 27

Across the River

Kurenai was really starting to get less agitated about this technique. It was great to see what the kids were up to, and at the same time it was good to know they were far to far away for any messages to make it to Kenari and Yashero before it became obsolete.

Everyone was in what was fast becoming his or her customary position. Instead of kneeling beside Katsu, he made her sit in front of him and lean against him. She didn't like the position, but didn't protest either. Alara was in a similar position with Inoshi and Kurenai had no doubt that Inoshi preferred to have Alara leaning against him as opposed to being draped on him.

Shikaku wasn't glaring at them for once, but his hatred was still clear. Whatever Alara had done to him had clearly beating some sense into him.

They were using Shikaku's blood first and Shikamaru and Temari came up on the mirror. He was looking surprised about something and Temari's voice reached their ears. Ino and Choji were also on the screen and Kurenai was relieved to note that they looked fine.

"_I love his intelligence and loyalty to his companions. I love how he treats all fair even if he doesn't like them. I love the way he doesn't give up and puts all of his concentration into the task set before him. To him it isn't the out side that matters it is the inside. That is all that matters to me." Temari declared firmly._

_Ino was grinning. Temari blinked then glanced at Shikamaru, clearly having totally forgotten he had been standing beside her at some point during the conversation they had apparently missed._

_Ino was still grinning at Temari before walking away and heading off the image._

"_Tied score." Choji commented._

"_Tied score?" Shikamaru asked._

"_Four points for Naruto and four points for Ino." Choji explained as he left the two of them alone, also leaving sight of the screen._

_Temari glanced at Shikamaru, who was still staring at her wide-eyed. She blushed, than mumbled some excuse about checking on Gaara before wandering off._

"I wish I had caught all of that." Alara laughed. "Poor boy looks like a landed fish."

"It seems Naruto and Ino have some sort of contest going on and the score was just tied." Katsu stated.

"No doubt to get those two together. Temari was blushing rather deeply and had made a run for it. It was clear she had forgotten Shikamaru was standing next to her. I bet Ino baited her and she fell for it." Alara guessed.

"I would agree." Katsu agreed.

_Shikamaru was still staring after Temari in surprise and didn't show any signs of moving._

"_Keh, how troublesome." Shikamaru finally sighed and moved on._

_They seemed to be in the process of taking a break. They spotted many of the kids and no one appeared to be injured so it was clear that Kenari and Yashero hadn't found them or fought with them anytime soon._

"_Oi, Shikamaru-kun, have you seen Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as the blond haired boy appeared on the screen._

"_Temari sent her with Shino, Kiba, Akamaru, Keiji, Kageko, Kannon and Inuka to scout our rear." Shikamaru answered._

"_Wow. Temari-chan was able to pry Keiji away from Ino." Naruto asked, shock evident in his voice. "Never thought that was possible."_

"_Hai." Shikamaru answered._

"_So, what happened this morning anyway?" Naruto asked with a grin._

"_What are you talking about?" Shikamaru demanded._

"_You know what I am talking about. Cold feet my rear. The way you two were nestled together there was no way any part of her was cold."_

On the other side of the screen Alara was leaning eagerly forward, clearly interested to hear more. Shikaku looked like he had swallowed a fish; shocked his son could, let alone would, possibly do what Naruto was implying. Asuma raised an eyebrow in surprise. Akimichi was chuckling. Gai was grinning and looking ready to cry or shout something out, Kakashi seemed surprised, but was grinning in silent laughter. She didn't know what to think.

_Shikamaru's eye was definitely twitching._

"_Granted it didn't look like either of you were wearing anything under there." Naruto pondered._

Shikaku choked so Akimichi pounded on his back for him. Asuma was also stunned and Kakashi raised an eye in surprise before slapping Gai up the side of the head to stop the speech Gai no doubt wanted to proclaim on young, spirited love.

"_Naruto." Shikamaru protested._

"_I didn't even know you could blush." Naruto added. "I wish I could have taken a picture of it. You were beet red." Naruto laughed._

"Shikamaru can blush?" Asuma asked in surprise.

"I never knew." Shikaku answered in a stammer.

(break)

"Naruto, I am going to kill you if you do not shut up." Shikamaru threatened.

"Right, like you would do something as troublesome as gathering the energy to try and kill me." Naruto waved the threat away.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest, but suddenly stopped and cocked his head as if listening to something. Naruto had snapped his head up and to the right of the screen, clearly having picked up whatever had disturbed Shikamaru.

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sounded like the distress call of a falcon." Naruto answered with a frown. "Didn't Meiyo say Yamanaka Kannon would use his _Shintenshin_ on animals?"

"Hai." Shikamaru agreed.

Both boys ran up to Meiyo, who had her Byakugan fully activated and was looking at the sky. This time everyone heard the cry of a falcon. Meiyo leaped into the air and caught something before coming back to the ground.

In her hands was a wounded falcon, breathing heavily and screeching, blood was pouring everywhere from a needle stuck in the birds wings.

"Kannon!" Meiyo gasped. "Chiyu-chan, Doku-kun." Meiyo called, turning her head away from the bird before returning her attention back to it. "Good work Kannon. Tell Keiji and the others to take up our rear guard. Now hurry and break the jutsu. We will do what we can for the bird and move out immediately."

"Shino will be able to follow our trail if they lose it." Temari stated as she came onto the screen.

The falcon cried once more, than went limp in her hands. Meiyo passed the bird to Chiyu and Doku, who quickly started to treat the poor thing.

"Everyone pack up and get moving. We got company." Meiyo ordered in a shout before turning her attention to them.

"I take it that was Yamanaka Kannon?" Shikamaru asked calmly.

"Hai." Meiyo answered. "I told you birds were the best source of information. Chiyu-chan is going to try and see what she can do for the falcon. Can I get Sakura to check Kannon when he gets in? Keiji will send him ahead."

"Hai. Naruto?" Shikamaru turned to look at Naruto.

"On it." Naruto saluted as he left the screen to find Sakura.

"Everyone get moving." Meiyo snapped. "Tsume, Inuko, Zihna, take the lead. Tomeo and Genkaku, take rear with me. Everyone else spread out through out the formation as you have been designated." Meiyo commanded, then turned to look at Shikamaru.

"Sasuke, Lee, Naruto take lead. Hanabi and Konohamaru, take the second lead position." Shikamaru ordered. "Temari, Neji, Tenten, and Genma take the back. Gaara take center. Everyone else spread out throughout the formation."

In moments the formation was moving. Shikamaru took up a place near the back so they were able to see just how big the group truly was. They moved quickly, Gaara summoning his suna sleds to load the kids and gear on to and they ran at full speed.

Kannon appeared after several minutes, blood running down one of his arms and was ushered up onto one of the sleds while Sakura looked him over and started to heal him.

"The falcon?" Kannon demanded.

"Chiyu-chan and Doku-kun are caring for it." Sakura answered.

"Good." He sighed in relief.

"Those of you best at traps hold up and set some, all levels but extreme upper canopy." Meiyo commanded.

"But what of the others bringing up the rear?" Ino protested.

"They have already been warned. Good thing you sent Hinata with them. It lets me speak to Keiji." Meiyo's voice had a hint of smugness in it.

"Speak to Keiji?" Temari asked confused.

"The byakugan." Shikamaru guessed with a grin. "You can see Hinata and she can see you."

"Correct. Hinata may not know the hand codes we use, but Keiji can translate well enough and show her which ones to send."

Several of them had stopped, including Shikamaru and Temari. They spread out and started setting traps on all levels but extreme upper canopy as Meiyo had dictated. When they finished, they rejoined the formation.

"We made a fair bit of distance before stopping last night, and we have made lots today. We should be at the river soon." Meiyo reported.

"Than what?" Temari demanded.

"We follow it down stream and pray we can make it to Sanctuary."

"Wouldn't that be leading our enemies to you?" Shikamaru pointed out.

"Hai, but we have much better defences and far more fighters there." Meiyo answered. "We will be able to eliminate them."

Shikamaru looked sceptical, but didn't argue. The sound of rushing water reached their ears as they came to a roaring, large river.

Without hesitation they started following the flow of the river. Meiyo would occasionally spin around mid leap and send hand signals that were clearly meant for Hinata to pick up.

"Damn." Meiyo cursed.

"What is it?" Shikamaru demanded.

"The group chasing us has split up. Another group is moving to head us off. If we are going to get the civilians past them we are going to have to send a group to counter them and lead them on a false trail." Meiyo answered.

"Uzumaki, Tsume, Inuko. Head to our eastern flank and see if you can't slow them down." Meiyo ordered.

"Hai." All three responded before splitting from the group.

"Why those three?" Temari asked.

"Tsume and Inuko to find them and Uzumaki to fight them off if they fail or are discovered." Meiyo answered.

"I'll go with." Naruto offered, and bolted after the other three.

"Oi, Naruto." Shikamaru shouted in protest.

"You have Gaara-kun and Sasuke, you don't need me." Naruto shouted back as he caught up to and joined the others.

"Let him go. His _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ will help them out of a tough spot if they get into one." Temari cut off any further protest.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru growled.

They ran for several more minutes, the sound of explosions coming from off screen somewhere.

"They found our traps." Meiyo explained. "Keiji and the others have almost caught up and should be joining us soon."

(break)

"Why don't they cross the river? They would have a better chance defending themselves on the other side." Alara questioned in surprise.

"I don't know." Katsu admitted. "Shikamaru is not even protesting, nor is Temari. We must have missed something. I would say it is because not all of them can cross, but Gaara-sama could easily bridge that distance."

"Hah, Kenari-san caught up." Alara squealed in delight.

Sure enough, the way ahead was blocked by Kenari and Yashero's shinobi.

Gaara's suna came up in a defensive wall even as the first wave of shirukens and needles came flying at them. Zihna grounded to a halt in the lead, Hanabi running forward to join her.

"_Kaiten_." Both girls shouted, spinning around and deflecting the attacks.

What they missed, Tenten, Sasuke, and Konohamaru blocked with their own weapons.

"Sharingan." That was Sasuke and Keiji.

Keiji's voice indicated the back guard had caught up to them.

The others fell into a defensive position around Gaara, who had completely shielded off the civilians with the river at their backs. Gaara himself was standing on top of the shield with more suna swirling around him, ready to defend him or attack at his will.

"Shit." Temari cursed, drawing her fan from her back. "Shikamaru, you should go join Gaara. It will be easier to command from up there." She pointed out.

"Hai." He agreed.

Shikamaru turned and ran to join Gaara.

"_Kamaitachi_." Came Temari's voice from off screen and they knew she had just counted an attack levelled their way.

The sound of combat rang from the screen long before Shikamaru reached Gaara's side.

"We are surrounded and outnumbered." Gaara stated calmly.

"Not good." Shikamaru agreed.

"What of Naruto's group?" Gaara asked, ignoring the combat going on before him.

"No word that I know of." Shikamaru admitted, pulling several Kunai out of his pouch and throwing them.

"_Kagemane_?" Gaara asked.

"Not so good in this situation. If we had found them first it would have worked. They must have spotted us before Kannon found them. I found it strange that they would attack a falcon without knowing about Kannon's unique ability to use birds." Shikamaru admitted.

Gaara's suna burst to the side, indicating it had just blocked an attack. Gaara ignored it while Shikamaru drew and threw several more shiruken in the direction the attack came from.

"Kenari-san seems to be standing back again and letting Yashero-san do all of the work." Gaara noted.

"I expected as much. She's just the hound, Yashero-san is the hunter."

The battle was apparently not going well for the kids, judging by the grim lok on Shikamaru's face as he shouted orders.

In the background they could see Lee and Genma trading blows with Yashero, but since the screen was set on Shikamaru, whatever Yashero was saying to his two antagonists was lost to them, but he hardly seemed hard pressed to fight off both Jounin.

Ino was helping a badly wounded Kannon, who had taken several kunai and had already been wounded, to Sakura, who was currently healing a bad gash in Niku's leg. Hinata was defending Sakura to her best ability.

When Ino got Kannon to Sakura, a wall of suna rose. Sakura glanced up at Gaara and nodded her head in thanks before turning her attention back to the wounded. Working next to her, and being defended by Hanabi and Konohamaru, were Chiyu and Doku.

Chiyu was healing a bad burn from a katon jutsu on Kageko while Doku was administering an antidote to Choji.

"Even if they keep healing, we are going to run out of chakra and antidote sooner or later." Gaara pointed out calmly.

"Hai." Shikamaru sighed in agreement. "If only Naruto were here, he could have summoned someone to help." Shikamaru cursed.

Meiyo joined them, looking completely calm and unruffled despite the intensive fighting she had just come from. No few of Yashero and Kenari's men were laying defeated thanks to her efforts.

"There are two men off to the side that have only been watching thus far. Their power is strong, stronger then anyone else here." Meiyo stated.

"Where?" Shikamaru demanded.

"There." Meiyo pointed off to the side. "One has a big sword wrapped up on his back. The other has no distinctive features I can see."

"The one with the sword must be Kisame." Shikamaru cursed.

"Is he strong?" Meiyo asked.

"Strong enough, but he isn't the one we should be worried about. It's his partner."

"The one you said was Uchiha Itachi." Meiyo calmly stated. "They are on our path."

"Damn." Shikamaru cursed.

"We will have to remove them." She stated calmly.

"Remove them? And how do you plan on doing that?" Shikamaru demanded.

"I did not want to show this, but the situation leaves us no alternative. I will need room if I am to summon him."

"Him?" Shikamaru questioned.

Meiyo leaped down from the suna wall and calmly walked out onto the water, stopping a few feet out. She bit her thumb, preformed several seals, than slammed her hand on the water.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu; Akadoku._" She shouted.

The effect was instantaneous. Meiyo was erupted from the river as the creature she had summoned appeared with a poof of smoke and a hiss. To their surprise, it was a giant snake, easily a few hundred feet long, with the same build as Dokutsume. It was as big as the three-headed snake that had attacked Konoha during the invasion at the Chuunin exam.

"Meiyo-chan, are you willing to pay me for my services." The snake demanded, looking board.

"Hai, Akadoku-sama. I apologize for summoning you." Meiyo stated respectfully.

"Huh, things were getting boring. I see your party has grown larger since you left Seika." Akadoku commented.

"Hai."

"Anyone I have to leave alive?"

"Iie."

"Good."

Akadoku slithered forward with such speed Katsu couldn't turn the screen fast enough to catch up with the movement. Meiyo and Akadoku attacked head on, aiming for down river. Many of Kenari's shinobi wisely got out of the way of the attack, and many of Yashero's stood their ground and were instantly killed or maimed.

Meiyo ignored them in favour of the two-cloaked figures standing on an oak tree further down the bank. One was clearly Kisame, meaning the other could only be Itachi. Both stood their ground, seeming uninterested in the very large snake shooting their way.

Kisame, for that was who it had to be with the sword strapped to his back, performed several seal with such speed none of them were able to predict what it was he was going to do.

"_Suiton; Daaibakufu no Jutsu_." Kisame shouted.

A pillar of water shot from the river to collide with the giant snake's head with such force that it sent it careening slightly off to the side, thus going past an unmoving Kisame and Itachi to crush the trees to the side.

"Shit." Shikamaru cursed. "I didn't expect them to be this power full."

"Kisame's sword eats chakra." Sakura's voice shouted up to him. "Does Meiyo know?"

"Iie." Shikamaru shouted back down. "How are we standing?"

"Not good. We are going to run out of antidote soon. They truly do seem to want us alive. We can't keep fending off this rain of needles forever. We are going to run out of chakra and sooner or latter we are all going to be hit at least once, and that is all it is going to take. Hanabi and Konohamaru have already withdrawn. They are dry." She reported.

In the distance the snake had regained it's balance and hissed at his targets. The entire field was light up as a stream of liquid shot from the snake's mouth, followed by Meiyo igniting it with a fire Jutsu.

The resulting blast of fire was humongous and made its way to the two members of Akatsuki, who still hadn't moved from their spot on the path leading downstream.

Once more Kisame made seals while Itachi did nothing.

"_Suiton; Suijinheki no Jutsu._"

A stream of water shot from Kisame, interrupting the flow of fire. Steam rushed out in all directions when the two jutsu's collided, fogging up the battle field so they could no longer see what was going on.

"Damn." Shikamaru snarled.

The steam did give them the advantage of cover though. Maybe they could make it past the two members of Akatsuki with the visual barrier up.

"Gaara, start walking down river. Everyone, start moving down river, keep your guard up and always keep another in sight." Shikamaru ordered in a shout.

Everyone slowly stared to fight his or her way down river. Kannon leaped up to join Shikamaru, the rush of blood from his cuts healed by Sakura's efforts.

"Shikamaru, we have no way of knowing what is on the other side of that steam, or even what other obstacles await us. Also, we don't know how Uzumaki and the others are doing or if we can even get them to come in as a rear strike."

"What are you suggesting?" Shikamaru asked.

In answer Kannon pointed to the air. Shikamaru looked up, then back down.

"One screech means danger, two means caution, three means help is coming, and four means all clear. There are others but now is not the time to try and memorize them." Kannon explained, holding up each finger as he counted.

Shikamaru seemed to think for a few second, than consented.

"Alright. Konohamaru, Hanabi." Shikamaru called.

Both Genin appeared, looking tired and ruffed up, but other wise fine.

"I am leaving you the important mission of guarding Kannon's body while he scouts." Shikamaru ordered.

"Hai." Both Genin saluted smartly.

Kannon turned about, clasped his hands together, than went limp. Shikamaru caught him and handed him to Konohamaru, who brought the limp body back behind Gaara's shield.

The long scream of a falcon rang over the battlefield, no doubt indicating Kannon's success. Shikamaru turned his attention back to the battle. The mist was obscuring everything and little of the fighting could be seen, though various Jutsu's could still be heard and occasionally the flash of a Katon technique would brighten up the mist.

The sound of thrashing still came from ahead, no doubt Meiyo and the giant snake still trying to dislodge Kisame and Itachi from their position.

Everyone held their breaths as the kids made the their way through the fog. The sound of battle died down a bit as everyone had to be more careful about their targets and visibility decreased.

"Gaara, bring us out over the river." Shikamaru ordered quietly.

"Hai." Gaara agreed.

The sound of fighting completely died down except for from one area now off to their right, no doubt about it being Meiyo judging by the sound of something big thrashing about.

After a minute or so the steam began to clear up. They were on the other side and everyone had made it, if not in one piece. Some had taken needles, but Doku was quickly administering antidotes to them.

Four screams of a falcon greeted them.

"Run, full speed." Shikamaru barked.

Everyone bolted, following the river down stream.

Gaara dropped his suna shield and erected a large wall behind them to slow pursuit. Temari joined Shikamaru's side.

"Zihna, Kiba, Akamaru, Inuko, take the lead." Temari shouted.

"Hai." Three shouted back and one barked in affirmative as they took to the lead.

"Hinata, take center front, Hanabi, center back, Neji, back." She added.

"Hai." They confirmed.

The children were still up on Gaara's suna sleds and looked terrified, but not panicked. The wounded were also loaded up, Kannon among them since he was unable to control his body at the moment.

Said boy in the falcon's body flew down low and landed on the suna sled closest to Shikamaru.

"Good work Kannon, go find Uzumaki, Tsume, Inuka and Naruto and bring them in." Shikamaru ordered.

Kannon chirped in affirmative before taking off.

"Ino has to learn to do that." Temari commented. "It is so damn useful."

"Maybe when we have some time." Shikamaru agreed. "And if Kannon is willing to teach her."

"Well, Keiji and Ino are getting rather close, and Kannon and Keiji are team mates. I am sure we can get Ino to convince Keiji, to convince Kannon." Temari smirked.

Shikamaru looked at her as if she were crazy, but wisely didn't say anything.

"Shikamaru."

"Hmm?"

"I was thinking, it is several days yet to the base, right."

"Yeah."

"Well, that will put the date as September first or second. We will need to rest for at least a week, then get training on the terrain and danger we will meet, that may take another week or two. Than we have to travel to Seika, which must take more then a week of backtracking since we have been traveling this way for a week. So now we are looking at one month in the least, meaning we won't be able to leave until October. We are further north so winter will come sooner. If we have to travel up high, that means we will meet snow even sooner. This is all assuming we are not slowed down by Kenari-san, Yashero-san, Akatsuki, and the things hunting Meiyo."

"What are you getting at?" Shikamaru asked, clearly too exhausted to try and decipher her meaning.

"We may not be able to leave for Seika until after winter, meaning we may not be able to set out from the base until March. If we are lucky, we might make it to Suna by April and strike back against Konoha in late April, early May. And that's the best case scenario."

Shikamaru frowned, as he seemed to think through Temari's words. He sighed in clear defeat.

"I have a feeling you are right." He admitted. "I wish I knew what was going on in Konoha, to know if we have the time to spare."

"I think we do. Naruto and Gaara are right. Akatsuki can't do anything to Konoha as long as it is being used as bait."

"It does seem strange that they would only send two out of four of the mercenary groups after us, and only two of the members of Akatsuki after us. It is as if they are in no hurry to re-acquire Gaara and to acquire Naruto. What is it they are really after?" Shikamaru agreed with her.

"That is the key question. We have no doubt Akatsuki is in charge, so what is it they truly want? Why keep everyone in Konoha all right? We assumed it was because it would have been pointless to start killing people off to bring in Gaara and Naruto since they didn't know where we were and had no way of getting a message to us, but they damn well know where we are now so that is no longer a reason. Konoha should have no value to them, but clearly they are guarding it and holding onto it. Why not just kill everyone and come after us?"

"What is it about, in, or around Konoha they want?" Shikamaru questioned.

Further discussion was cut off as Genkaku fell back to join them.

"What is it?" Temari asked.

"Since you have little experience traveling with us, it is not surprising you would not have asked this off me sooner." He commented as he jumped up on to the last suna sled, facing the back trail.

"Asked what?" Temari asked confused.

Shikamaru smiled as if he understood and ran forward, ordering everyone past the last sled so Genkaku was at the back.

"What are you doing?" Temari asked.

Genkaku didn't answer as he began to form many seals in a complex order.

Kurenai gapped at the seals Genkaku was forming. She knew them, she was a Yuuhi after all and had been trained in all of the family's specialized Genjustus. The one Genkaku was using was one she herself had taken years to master and was one not used lightly as it took a considerable amount of chakra. It was not easy to set a genjutsu up as a triggered trap. Generally the target needed to be spotted before it could be done.

"What is he doing?" Katsu asked her.

She opened her mouth to deny she knew, but stopped. Her reaction had already giving her away. Instead she chose to remain silent. Katsu would find out soon enough.

Shikamaru and Temari had joined Genkaku on the suna sled and were facing backwards, allowing them to see the trail behind them.

Genkaku finished his seals, his eyes flashed red for a moment, the trail behind them started to shimmer, their tracks starting disappearing. The back trail looked hazed out for a moment, then settled back to looking normal.

"It won't fool a Sharingan user, but it should give us some time against the others." Genkaku explained, clear exhaustion in his voice.

"What did you do?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"I set a multi-layered genjutsu trap." Genkaku answered. "I can go more complex, but not with the chakra I have left. First they will be lead around in circles. Once they figure that out and break it, they will be shown a world completely different from this one, leading them to believe they had wandered off the course while trapped in the genjutsu. Once they break that one, they will be returned to the area they know they should be, but this time it will be fraught with danger. Even an illusion can kill if you believe in it.

"Unfortunately that was the last layer I could lay. Once they break that one they will be onto us again, but hopefully their own floundering will have obscured our trail and we should have a good distance set between us."

"What of Meiyo?" Temari demanded.

"She will expect me to have done it. It is common practice in this scenario. She will be able to avoid it. Kannon will not be affected from the air and will be able to see it and warn the others, so don't worry about your friend. Now if you will excuse me, I need to pass out now."

Shikamaru caught Genkaku as the boy fainted.

"Used up too much chakra." Shikamaru commented. "Temari, I am leaving rear guard to you. I need to speak with Zihna. She seems to be the one in command right now for Meiyo's group."

"Hai. Drop him off with Sakura and the others on your way by." Temari ordered.

Shikamaru took the boy and ran forward, dropping him off on the suna sled holding Sakura, Hinata, Chiyu, Doku and those they were currently working on, Lee and Genma among them. Yashero had done them both over and Shikamaru was really starting to detest the man.

"Chakra deprivation." Shikamaru explained as he ran past.

Zihna was running up front with Kiba, Akamaru and Inuko, a look of worry on the girl's face.

"Zihna, what do you guys usually do in a situation like this?" Shikamaru demanded as he fell into step next to her.

"We form up in the formation we are currently in, then we get Genkaku to cover our trail if he has the chakra left to do so. We set traps if we have the time. If push comes to shove, Meiyo, Keiji, Tsume, Uzumaki, and I hold up the back trail while the others run ahead with Kannon scouting ahead." Zihna answered.

"I see. Then we are set up the best we have than." He stated. "What does the trail ahead look like?"

"Clear for now, but it will only be a matter of time before they catch up to us." Zihna commented.

"Meiyo is back." Came a shout from the rear.

Shikamaru looked over his shoulder as Meiyo joined them, looking tired and exhausted, but otherwise fine.

"Everyone cross the river." She commanded.

"Nani?" Shikamaru demanded. "You said no matter what don't cross the river."

"I am changing that now. Everyone cross the river." She commanded, than fell back to Iruka and Genma, Shikamaru following her, clearly wanting an answer to his question.

Sakura had done what she could for Lee and Genma and was working on Neji, who looked like he had been sliced to ribbons, with Chiyu's help.

"Iruka, Genma, once we cross the river and reach the tree line you must both fall to your knees and bow your heads. No matter what happens, DO NOT MOVE." She commanded.

"Nani?" Iruka asked confused.

"Just do it." She commanded as she fell back again to Gaara's side. "Gaara, remain on this side until Uzumaki catches up to us. They will be here in a moment."

"You told us not to cross the river." Gaara stated calmly.

" I am rectifying that order now." She stated as she ran forward again to run next to Iruka and Genma. "Remember, no matter what, drop to your knees at the tree line and do not move from that position."

She returned to the lead and led the way across the river; Gaara staying behind as asked. A large clearing of grass met them and they raced for the tree line. Meiyo called for them to a stop at the line, and they all faced the river.

"Iruka, Genma, down on your knees with heads bowed now." Meiyo shouted.

Uzumaki and the others appeared, Kannon in the falcon flying above them. Kannon gave a single screech, indicating that danger was imminent.

"You have my permission to enter these lands." Uzumaki shouted to Gaara as they caught up to him.

Gaara blinked in surprise, but followed them as they crossed the river and raced across the clearing to join them. Tsume's group looked fine if not tired, no doubt having been playing hare to Kenari's hounds.

Kenari and Yashero appeared on the other side of the river. Kenari came to a halt, her hounds whimpering and refusing to go further. She called her warriors to stop, but Yashero sneered and his warriors continued forward, though the man did not.

"Do not move." Meiyo repeated.

The ground trembled, the trees shock. Yashero's warriors came to a stop, a look of pure terror and horror on their faces.

"Do not move." Came Meiyo's voice in a stern, yet calm, order.

Fur bright golden yellow filled the screen, six tails lashing behind it. The ground shock as the kitsune landed. It bared its fangs, than charged. Yashero's men panicked, the wiser ones running back across the river, the not so smart ones standing to fight. They died quickly in the fangs and paws of the massive creature.

"No matter what happens, do not move from the position." Meiyo said firmly as both men looked ready to bolt.

It was not as big as Kyuubi had been, maybe a half to a quarter of the size, but the power it wielded was not slight. It chassed the men to the river, but stopped at the edge, snarling in rage and frustration.

Kenari was still standing on the other side, looking slightly disturbed, but remaining calm. Her hounds trembled at her heels. She walked slowly backwards, ordering her charges to do the same. The kitsune paced the bank, watching them. When the last one left sight, it turned its head to face the children.

Katsu's screen died out, the jutsu having been run to the end. Kurenai looked up at Katsu, who was sweating and labouring for breath, a clear sign of chakra deprivation. He had forced the jutsu to run longer then was originally intended. He had no strength left to renew it on Ino.

"When?" Alara demanded.

"Tomorrow." Katsu answered.

Alara scowled slightly, but nothing could be done. They would just have to wait and hope that everything went all right. Kurenai silently sent up a prayer everyone would be fine before helping Katsu to his feet and back to their room, where he promptly passed out on the bed.

Hesitatingly, she stripped him of his clothes and tucked him in. There was no point in picking a fight, not when she desperately wanted to see what had happened tomorrow. It would do her no good to be denied the ability to watch as punishment.

* * *

I loved the humour in this chapter, but I hate the fight. It could have been much beter. Next chapter will be a more detailed version of the fight from Shikamaru's side of the lines. For the record, Sasuke didn't know Itachi was there as he was preoccupied with his own end of the battle field and will be way beter done than this chapter.Well, Christmas is over and its back to school, which means I am afraid updates will slow done as I will be very, very busy. But I assure you there will be updates. Till next time.. 


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

Chapter 28

Uzumaki's Family

Kannon's warning was what had saved them. It might not have been wise spending years to master such a technique as being able to take over the mind of a bird and then learn to fly, blowing off other training as a result, but it was moments like this that made her truly appreciate Yamanaka Kannon's amazing ability to control a bird and scout from the sky.

Future generations of the Yamanaka family would be able to master the technique faster now that Kannon had found the way and the key.

Meiyo ran everyone forward at full speed. She was worried about Keiji and the others, but now was not the time for such worries. As such she tossed the worry aside. Keiji could handle himself.

She held back her sigh of relief when Keiji and his group, all of them, came into sight of her byakugan. As expected Kannon had been sent ahead, blood running down his arm. The moment Kannon joined them, Hinata made a set of seals with her hands Meiyo recognized.

"_Good work Keiji-kun._" Meiyo thought with a grin. "Those of you best at traps hold up and set some, all levels but extreme upper canopy." Meiyo commanded.

"But what of the others bringing up the rear?" Ino protested.

"_Worried about Keiji no doubt. Those two have been inseparable since he saved her life. Seems like the ultimate curse of the Uchiha clan is to forever be stalked by lovesick puppies. At least this one seems to actually care about him and Keiji seems slightly smitten with her to. _

"_I best keep my eye on the situation just encase if she has plans to seduce him for her own ends. I doubt it as I sense nothing malicious from her, but the best hide their presence well. Still, I should alleviate her worry."_ Meiyo thought. "They have already been warned." Meiyo grinned at Shikamaru and Temari. "Good thing you sent Hinata with them. It lets me speak to Keiji." Meiyo explained.

"Speak to Keiji?" Temari asked confused.

"The byakugan." Shikamaru guessed with a grin. "You can see Hinata and she can see you."

"Correct. Hinata may not know the hand codes we use, but Keiji can translate well enough and show her which ones to send." She admitted, not surprised Shikamaru had figured it out so fast, he was a Nara after all and that family was well known for its amazing ability to strategize and work out puzzles.

Meiyo came to stop and started to set traps, several of the others also stopping. They set them up on all levels but extreme upper. Keiji would be sure to make sure they kept to the tops and go over the traps.

She grinned as she noticed several of Tomeo's Kikai sitting on the traps, clearly marking them for Shino.

"_Smart thinking Tomeo-chan._" She silently complemented. "_What ever ones Hinata-chan's Byakugan misses Shino will find._"

They finished setting the traps and ran to catch up to the others.

"We made a fair bit of distance before stopping last night, and we have made lots today. We should be at the river soon." She stated.

"Than what?" Temari demanded.

"We follow it down stream and pray we can make it to Sanctuary." She answered.

"Wouldn't that be leading our enemies to you?" Shikamaru pointed out.

"_He seems worried about that. Good. It means he truly does seem to care. I have never been wrong when reading the personality of another, but there is always a first."_ She thought, pleased he truly did seem to be worried. "Hai, but we have much better defences and far more fighters there. We will be able to eliminate them.

"_Easily_." She added silently. "_The rest of the younger Chuunin, almost all of the Genin, and a few Jounin, along with four ANBU members, are guarding that base. We will be able to crush those following us without needed to fear for and protect the civilians."_

Shikamaru looked sceptical, but didn't argue. The sound of rushing water reached her ears as they approached the river. She spun around mid leap and sent a message back, reminding Keiji that they were heading down stream and to not cross the river.

She could see those pursuing her now. They were still behind Keiji's group, but she was a little worried at the apparent lack of numbers. Hinata sent her back several sets of signals, and Meiyo bit back the foul curse she wanted to spew. The message was not a good one.

"Damn." She cursed.

"What is it?" Shikamaru demanded.

"The group chasing us has split up. Another group is moving to head us off. If we are going to get the civilians past them we are going to have to send a group to counter them and lead them on a false trail." Meiyo answered. "Uzumaki, Tsume, Inuka. Head to our eastern flank and see if you can't slow them down." She ordered without hesitation.

"Hai." All three responded before splitting from the group.

The three of them had done this many times in the past. Usually she would go with them as well, but she couldn't afford to leave the main group right now. The safety of the children was more important.

"Why those three?" Temari asked her in clear confusion.

"Tsume and Inuka to find them and Uzumaki to fight them off if they fail or are discovered." She answered.

"I'll go with." Naruto offered, and bolted after the other three.

Meiyo was stunned by the offer, but didn't protest. Naruto had proven himself adept at combat and had quickly become a close friend with Uzumaki. In truth she felt a little better that Naruto was going with them.

"_That boy has the potential to be ANBU by now if he took the test._" She thought grudgingly. _"He has both the power and the right determination to be a good entrance level ANBU."_

"Oi, Naruto." Shikamaru shouted in protest.

"You have Gaara and Sasuke, you don't need me." Naruto shouted back as he caught up to and joined the others.

"Let him go. His _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ will help them out of a tough spot if they get into one." Temari cut off any further protest.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru growled.

If it was one thing Meiyo had learned about him, it was that Shikamaru was overly found of that saying. She turned her attention to what was going on ahead of them. They ran for several more minutes, the sound of explosions reached their ears after several minutes, well after Keiji and the others had by passed the set traps as she had expected they would.

"They found our traps." Meiyo explained. "Keiji and the others have almost caught up and should be joining us soon."

Her prediction was right. Keiji joined them just as Nikuyaku's warning of the river reached them. The river was now to one side, the forest to the other. Through her byakugan Meiyo could see the enemy closing the distance. The traps had slowed them down, but hadn't stopped them.

"_Damn, at this rate they are going to catch up before we can get to a defensible position. Uzumaki, Tsume, Inuka, Naruto, you had better delay that group moving to flank us or we are going to be in big trouble._" She thought in slight annoyance. _"It will be a pain to have to show them my true potential and power before I am one hundred percent certain I can trust them. Even the best friend can turn into an enemy when jealousy rears its ugly head."_

A shout from Zihna in the lead prevented her from cursing aloud by pure will alone. They had been cut off. She felt a twinge of fear for Tsume and the others, but set it aside. No doubt the flanking group had been big and Tsume hadn't been able to draw them all away.

"_Let us hope he drew enough away that we can handle what is ahead._" Meiyo silently prayed as Gaara set up his wall of Suna in a dome around the kids to defend them. _"Useful ability that. Out of everyone here, he panics the least. He seems to care about everyone and the children find him amazing. Judging by his attitude he did not have a pleasant past, but is trying hard to make up for past mistakes. He is very intriguing._" Meiyo thought as she spun around, deflecting an attack coming at them with her _Kaiten._

Around her Zihna, Neji, Hinata and Hanabi also countered the sudden rain of projectiles with their own various levels of _Kaiten_.

Neji and Zihna were on par with power and Hanabi showed potential. Hinata showed the weakest, but her specialty lay in different areas, areas Meiyo had never thought possible and found amazing.

"_Perhaps an exchange of skills is in order. Kannon's animal controlling for Hinata's medical expertise. I wonder what other skills we can trade. Perhaps meeting Shikamaru's group was the best thing to have ever happened to us."_

Meiyo put the thought aside for now, this was not the best place for an in depth analysis of trading skills.

Through her Byakugan Meiyo tried to keep track of the entire field. Shikamaru was standing next to Gaara on a sled of floating suna, the best place he could be. Temari was countering projectiles and occasionally attacking with her fan, the chakra imbedded wind ripping up the forest and giving the enemy less cover to attack from while threatening them with falling debris at the same time. It was kind of amusing to watch the panic on their faces as the forest fell around them.

With the large group of people fighting, there was little room for large techniques to be thrown out without fear of hitting others. The enemy also had a much larger force set into two lines.

They managed to continue to inch down stream, but they were getting nowhere fast. The ones that had been pointed out to her to be Yashero's shinobi were attacking them head on with back up support in the form of Jutsu's and thrown weapons coming from the ones labelled as Kenari's.

While fighting one on one with one opponent, Kenari's shinobi were hitting them with needles and shiruken, no doubt dipped in poison judging by the effects it had on those hit.

Those with Byakugan and those with the Sharingan were holding up all right, their ability to see or predict the attacks letting them counter them and help defend others. Temari was using her fan to defend herself and Tenten was able to easily deflect attacks coming her way.

Kannon, already wounded, took several hits, but Ino caught him before he could fall and Kageko quickly came to her team mates rescue.

"Useless, floundering bird, why do we even keep you around." Kageko snapped in irritation.

"Less yapping and more fighting you useless shadow hiding coward." Kannon snapped back, those his voice was slightly slurred from the poison.

Meiyo resisted the urge to shake her head in amusement. Those two argued over everything no matter the situation, but neither had ever failed to defend the other or to support each other.

Ino helped Kannon over to Sakura, who was being defended by Hinata. Meiyo was relieved to see that the Genin from Konoha were defending Chiyu and Doku. Both were skilled and she was impressed with their abilities and pleased to see all four of them working together.

Kiba and Akamaru where spinning around all over the place, using the speed and unpredictability of their attacks to keep relatively safe while Choji was using his strength to lift boulder and trees to use as weapons that would scatter concentrated groups of their opponents.

The other fought in their own styles and unconsciously started to form their Genin team groups with a few exceptions. Sasuke and Nori seemed to form up as one team. Ino stood behind Keiji and was doing a surprisingly amazing job covering his back with several different forms of well placed, low level genjutsu or a well placed kunai.

A shinobi, clearly Jounin level, appeared before Kageko. Kageko leaped back out of physical attack range, to run smack into a fire Jutsu fired off by one of Kenari's Shinobi. Meiyo felt her heart flutter in fear, but Kageko quickly landed and rolled along the ground, smothering the flames before she could be burnt too badly.

Her rolling left her almost at Chiyu's feet, who quickly turned her attention away from healing a nasty gash in Nikuyaku's leg, who quickly returned to the field, to start healing the burns on Kageko's body.

Meiyo let out the breath she had been holding, spinning around in another Kaiten to counter another series of attacks. When she came out of the spin she noticed Gaara had erected a suna wall around the medics, relieving them of the pressure they had been under.

"_Good_." Meiyo thought in relief. "_That is one man I can grow to admire_." She admitted. _"He is concentrating all of his chakra on defending those unable to defend themselves. No wonder he is Kazekage. He is putting his people's, or in this case allies, safety first before his own."_

She had a few seconds breathing space and used it to her advantage to scope the field out again. Two new people, both wearing black and red cloaks and straw hats that hid their faces, blocked the path ahead of them.

She had no idea who they were but their very posture sent warnings rushing through her system. They seemed board and unconcerned about what was going on around them. The only other thing of note was that the one called Yashero was fighting Genma and Lee, easily fending both Jounin off and trying to make his way to Kiba.

She signalled Keiji and Nori over to assist the besieged Jounin, silently impressed with just how powerful Yashero was, but unable to deal with him at the moment herself. The two in front of them worried her.

Meiyo joined Shikamaru and Gaara on top of the suna shield. She had been fighting for some time, but she was hardly exhausted or even pressed. This was nothing to her. The main problem was that she couldn't be everywhere at once and these shinobi were not mere chumps she could just defeat easily without reviling more then she wished to.

"There are two men off to the side that have only been watching thus far. Their power is strong, stronger then anyone else here." Meiyo calmly told them.

"Where?" Shikamaru demanded.

"There." She pointed off to the side. "One has a big sword wrapped up on his back. The other has no distinctive features I can see." She explained.

"The one with the sword must be Kisame." Shikamaru cursed.

"Is he strong?"

"Strong enough, but he isn't the one we should be worried about. It's his partner." Shikamaru grumbled.

"The one you said was Uchiha Itachi. They are on our path."

Both Shinobi did seem strong to her, but she was sure she could get them to move. Shikamaru had already warned her about them and she had no doubt that out of the two, Itachi was the strongest, maybe even stronger then her. She didn't want to test that out in their current situation.

It was true she had full training on how to deal with a Sharingan user and had defeated many of them in the past, Keiji and his father among them. She trained with Keiji constantly just for that reason alone. And while neither Keiji nor his father were the strongest users of the Sharingan in Seika, they were not the weakest either.

"_Beating the Sharingan is all about eye placement. Many of the Sharingan users come to rely on their ability to trap their target in a genjutsu or to read their targets movements that when they can't it throws them off balance, making them extremely weak against taijutsu. Also, if they can't keep up with what they are seeing, they are also made useless." _Meiyo told herself as she studied her two obstacles

"_I could take one of them at a time, but not both. I have no choice but to summon him. Akadoku has a natural resistance to Genjutsu's so he should be okay. I just need to get them to move so we can make it past them. I do not want to cross the river if it can be avoided. Akadoku it is than. If that doesn't work, than we cross the river and pray we all live."_ She thought determined.

"Damn." Shikamaru cursed from her side.

"We will have to remove them." She stated calmly, having already come to her decision.

"Remove them? And how do you plan on doing that?" Shikamaru demanded.

"I did not want to show this, but the situation leaves us no alternative. I will need room if I am to summon him." She answered.

"Him?" Shikamaru questioned.

She ignored Shikamaru's question as she leaped down from the suna wall and calmly walked out onto the water, stopping a few feet out. She bit her thumb, preformed several seals, than slammed her hand on the water.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu; Akadoku._" She shouted.

She was erupted from the river as Akadoku appeared with an explosion of smoke and a hiss.

His frill was fully opened, his fangs barred as he hissed and lashed his tail, causing water to shoot up in a spray. He looked like a far larger image of Dokutsume, and indeed he was the younger snakes older sibling and partner to Doku's brother.

Meiyo was just glad he had answered her summons and had not been held up by Doku's older brother, leading her to believe that they were not currently on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, Akadoku owed her nothing and while he offered his services to Doku's older brother for free, they were partners after all, she was not so lucky as to get off so easily. Every time she was forced to summon him, it cost her.

"Meiyo-chan, are you willing to pay me for my services." Akadoku asked in their usual ritual after she had summoned him.

"Hai, Akadoku-san. I apologize for summoning you." She answered respectfully.

"Huh, things were getting boring. I see your party has grown larger since you left Seika." Akadoku commented.

"Hai."

Good. He had answered her unasked question about how everyone's parents were doing and how the battle had been going without her having to ask. If Akadoku was bored, it meant that the battles were quieting down and everyone from Seika was more or less all right.

"Anyone I have to leave alive?" Akadoku asked, surveying the battlefield.

"Iie." She answered.

"Good." He grinned.

Akadoku slithered forward with such speed that almost any other shinobi would have went flying off his head and rolled over his back. Meiyo was use to his lightning fast movements and had braced herself, locking onto his scaly hide with chakra.

They charged straight toward were the members of Akatsuki were blocking their path, bowling over all stupid enough to get in their way instantly killing or maiming the baka's.

Meiyo ignored them in favour of their targets, currently standing on an oak tree further down the bank. One was clearly Kisame, meaning the other could only be Itachi. Both stood their ground, seeming uninterested in the very large snake shooting their way.

Kisame, for that was who it had to be with the sword strapped to his back, performed several seal with such speed even she had to admit she was impressed.

"_Suiton; Daaibakufu no Jutsu_." Kisame shouted.

A pillar of water shot from the river to collide with Akadoku's head with such force that it sent Akadoku careening slightly off to the side, thus going past an unmoving Kisame and Itachi to crush the trees to the side.

Meiyo was impressed by the strength of the jutsu and had nearly been dislodged herself. Few had ever been able to deflect Akadoku's full speed and she move Kisame's annoyance level up a few notches. Itachi hadn't moved and seemed disinterested in the fight. That was fine by her. She didn't want to fight them, just get them to move so they could get passed.

Akadoku regained his balance and hissed at their targets in annoyance.

"Akadoku-san, flame." She shouted.

"Hai."

Akadoku fired a stream of poison at the two men. Meiyo quickly formed several seals.

"_Katon; Goukakyuu no Jutsu_." She declared as a stream of fire shot from her mouth to mix with the stream of highly flammable poison Akadoku was shooting from his fangs.

The entire field was light up as the resulting blast of fire made its way towards the two unmoving members of Akatsuki.

Once more Kisame made seals while Itachi did nothing.

"_Suiton; Suijinheki no Jutsu._"

A stream of water shot from Kisame, interrupting the flow of fire. Steam rushed out in all directions when the two jutsu's collided, fogging up the battlefield.

"_Alright, this is getting really annoying._" Meiyo grumbled to herself.

Akadoku shifted under her and the sound of his tail crashing into trees reached her ears. This time both members of Akatsuki did move, leaping clear of the attack as the tree they had been standing in was obliterated into matchsticks.

With her byakugan she saw Shikamaru gather everyone in and start them moving into the mist, no doubt planning to use it to cover their retreat. Above her a loud scream from a falcon let her know Kannon was in the air again, most likely scouting ahead to make sure the trail was clear.

"_Good thinking._" She silently complimented them, as her eyes remained focused on the two members of Akatsuki.

She formed several more seals while Akadoku coiled himself under her.

"_Katon; Housenka._" She shouted, several blast of fire shooting up into the air at her two targets.

She had to keep the two of them occupied with her so Shikamaru and Temari could get the others through and away.

Her attack missed and she wasn't surprised, but she seemed to have both of their attentions now. Itachi still hadn't attacked her, but his eyes were now focused on her. She made sure to keep her gaze to the side so as not to look into his eyes.

Kisame looked both delighted and annoyed. Delighted at having found a good play toy and annoyed at having to deal with her at the same time. Itachi said something to Kisame, what she wasn't sure, but Kisame did grin and step up, drawing his big blade while he did so.

Itachi, on the other hand, turned his back to her and was clearly intending on going after the others, leaving Kisame to deal with her.

"_Oh no you don't._" She silently vowed.

"Akadoku-san, we can't let them cut the others off." She shouted.

"Hai." Akadoku agreed as he shot forward again.

Kisame formed several seals, than shouted out his jutsu.

"_Suiton; Suijinheki no jutsu._"

A large burst of water came rushing at them bigger than the last time he had done it. It was like a giant tidal wave was rushing at them.

"Meiyo-chan." Akadoku shouted.

"Got it covered. Just keep them distracted." She shouted back as she started to form seals.

"_Doton; Doryuuheki no jutsu._"

A wall of earth erupted between them and the oncoming tidal wave. Meiyo had built it in such a way as to deflect the water away from where Shikamaru and the others were.

"Nani." Kisame shouted in disbelief.

Akadoku easily scaled the defensive wall and shot out over the water to land on the other side, landing in front of Itachi and swinging his tail around in a giant sweep to stop the man's retreat, his massive tail ripping up trees but missed Itachi, who had managed to dodge the attack and was now glaring at her in clear annoyance.

"_He still doesn't see me as a threat, only an annoyance. Fine by me. The more they underestimate me, the more time I have to give to Shikamaru and the others._" She thought as she formed seals again.

She had no doubt Itachi knew what she was doing, his Sharingan would show him her every move, but she could still hope to distract him and force him to pay attention to her if she kept her speeds high enough.

"_Katon; Karyuu Endan._"

The blast of fire that erupted from her mouth rushed towards him in the shape of a dragon. Kisame appeared before him and slashed with his sword, dispelling the attack by devouring the chakra.

"_Shit, that's going to be annoying, good thing I avoided close combat._"

Kisame rushed them this time, sword held to the side as Itachi's eye twitched.

"Damn he's fast." She cursed. "Gomen Akadoku-san." She apologized as she leaped from the snakes head just as Kiasme's sword slashed in front of the snake, his sword stealing all the chakra holding Akadoku here.

"I expect to be paid later." Akadoku stated calmly as the technique was dispelled. "I will see you around."

Akadoku disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"_Damn I didn't think Itachi was that strong. To use a Kanashibari no Jutsu so fast and efficiently was something not even I could do._" She moved Itachi's power up to near a kage's level, if not greater.

"_Kaiten_." She shouted, countering the rain of kunai Itachi had thrown at her, all with a minimal amount of effort that made her wonder if he was lazy or just one hell of a show off.

She came out of the spin and ducked under Kisame's swing at the last second, losing a bit of her hair to his sword in the process. He seemed surprised she had dodged, though by now he should have at least expected her to be that good.

"Bastard." She snarled. "You are within my deviation." She commented with a smirk.

"Nani." Kisame demanded.

"_Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou._" She declared, than rushed forward.

She struck the stunned man twice, than four times, than eight, than sixteen, then she was forced to jump back as Itachi came to Kisame's rescue, having clearly recognized the technique and what she was doing, interrupting her jutsu. She back flipped out of the way, losing more hair, this time to Itachi's kunai.

"_Kaiten_." She shouted again, picking up a whirl of dust and deflecting the kunai Itachi had thrown at her.

Four screams from Kannon sounded the all clear. Grinning, she rushed at Itachi and Kisame, completely open. Kisame was catching his breath, half of his vital tenketsu points sealed. Itachi calmly raised a kunai and threw it at her.

She formed several seals behind her back, and let the kunai hit her dead in the forehead. Kisame grunted a laugh while Itachi narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Her body exploded in a wash of smoke to reveal a log.

In the mist from the original clashing of her and Kisame's jutsu's, he could not track her with his Sharingan. She raced ahead and came out of the mist, her byakugan now clear and able to see the others ahead of her, everyone accounted for.

"_Good work, Temari, Shikamaru._" She silently congratulated them. "_You gave us a bit of time. Alright my friends, now that we are clear, you know what to do."_

Sure enough Genkakau fell back to the rear of the party and started to form a long sequence of complicated seals. Meiyo leaped off to the side, knowing just what he planned on doing. It wouldn't stop Itachi, but it would slow the others down. Her byakugan could clearly see that the other mercenaries had made it past the mist and were no longer hesitant about moving on now that Akadoku had been unsummoned.

She was exhausted, having used up a very large portion of her chakra in summoning Akadoku and fighting Kisame. She had no doubt Kisame was also exhausted and being half sealed messing up his chakra control. She prayed Itachi would remain by his partner's side. If Itachi did come after her right now, she would be in big trouble.

So far only the mercenaries seemed to be after them, Kenari and her scent hounds in the lead. They did get caught in Genkaku's trap, but Kenari was no fool and broke all three layers easily. Yashero's shinobi were not so smart and Meiyo had no doubt that the trap would have been efficient had Kenari not been there to rescue them.

"_Just how many men does Yashero-san have? He has lost the most out of everyone but his numbers don't seem to dwindle much. I will grant that they haven't fallen into the same trap twice, but they still keep walking into things a Genin could avoid._" She wondered.

She had no doubt that the enemy was going to catch up, and soon. Already Kenari had almost caught up to her. They were going to get tied down again. There was no way they were going to make it to the base, not with everyone exhausted.

Kenari had been holding her shinobi back. Meiyo was half empty from fighting Kisame and the others were in no better condition.

"_We have no choice. We are going to have to cross the river. I had wanted to avoid this, but we are going to need the back up._" She thought in defeat.

She caught up to the others and ran ahead to meet up with Shikamaru, who was at the head of the part.

"Everyone cross the river." She commanded.

"Nani?" Shikamaru demanded. "You said no matter what don't cross the river."

"I am changing that now. Everyone cross the river." She commanded.

She fell back to Iruka and Genma, Shikamaru following her, clearly wanting an answer to his question. Genma had taken some damage from fighting Yashero, but Sakura seemed to have healed him and was working on getting some chakra back into Genkaku.

"Iruka, Genma, once we cross the river and reach the tree line you must both fall to your knees and bow your heads. No matter what happens, DO NOT MOVE." She commanded.

"Nani?" Iruka asked confused.

"Just do it." She commanded as she fell back again to Gaara's side.

He wasn't a youkai, or even half youkai, but it would be best to follow procedure as if he was just to be on the safe side. She most definitely didn't want to offend the rulers of the other side. She was risking a lot by bringing Genma and Iruka onto the land as it was.

She caught sight of Uzumaki and the others through her byakugan, all of them looking fine and annoyed, as if they had spent the entire time running around in circles, and they probably had been. Good. Uzumaki was the key element in this next scenario.

"Gaara, remain on this side until Uzumaki catches up to us. They will be here in a moment."

"You told us not to cross the river." Gaara stated calmly.

" I am rectifying that order now."

She ran forward again to run next to Iruka and Genma. "Remember, no matter what, drop to your knees at the tree line and do not move from that position."

If she did this right, if they obeyed her, they just might live. It was a big gamble bringing both adults onto these lands. She could only hope that they passed whatever test the lord and lady of these lands might give them.

Everyone who needed to be warned had been and she led them across the river. Gaara stayed behind as she had asked him to, standing on the bank and waiting for Uzumaki and the others. She fell back to the rear.

Naruto stuck close to the three shinobi from Seika, trusting them to know the terrain, until they split up, Inuko and Uzumaki running off to the side and ahead of them. With his enhanced senses, thanks to Kyuubi, he could pick up the scents of the enemies that were close by and still trace Inuko and Uzumaki. He had no doubt there were too many opponents for them to efficiently distract.

"_We will just have to draw as many of them away as we can."_ He thought determined.

All of them could tell right where the enemy was. When they got closer, Naruto unleashed his chakra, letting it swirl around him in a red vortex, trying to draw as much attention to him as he could.

His temporary team mates looked at him in shock as his chakra solidified round him in the image of Kyuubi, four tails lashing behind him. His eyes were red and slit and his fangs and nails sharpened. His whiskers became more defined.

Unlike the fist time and several other times right after the first, Naruto was in complete control and still able to think rationally, even though Kyuubi was calling for blood and shaking in excitement on the other side of his cell.

It was a small price to pay for Kyuubi power and co-operation. If letting the kitsune ride his mind in combat helped smooth things over between them, then Naruto was willing to let it go, though he drew the line at eating raw meat.

He raced ahead of Tsume a blazing form of chakra. The enemy troop was expecting them, Naruto's chakra had to be sensed a mile away at the moment, but they didn't expect a horse sized kitsune and a swirling vortex of claws.

Most of the enemy troop froze when the saw the youkai possessed boy flying straight at them. Naruto tore through the centre of the group, but didn't stop and turn around, instead he continued on.

He didn't kill very many in the initial strike, but he did wound many and cause a lot of confusion. The swirling _tsuuga_ of Tsume also added to the confusion as she followed in his wake. It didn't take long for the enemy to send a unit after them. It wasn't all of them, but it was enough to at least give Shikamaru and the others enough of a break that they should be able to at least fend them off without being taken down right away.

They continued to run with their enemies behind them. They kept just enough of a lead to keep out of immediate attack range while still being close enough to continue to give the enemy the illusion that they had a chance to catch them. He caught a strong whiff of Inuko' scent, and leaped up into the tops of the trees, followed by Tsume.

The enemy didn't have that kind of warning like scent, and ran head on into the field of traps set by Uzumaki and Inuko. The field dissolved into a mass of battles and explosions as traps triggered and ambushes were sprung. Naruto held back on techniques and kept the fight to Taijutsu. In all of the confusion jutsu's could quickly be used against the user and his or her allies.

His world narrowed to him and the opponents within his sphere. He kept track of the other three by scent and almost wished that Kiba and Akamaru were here. He had never fought with these three before so they had no rhythm.

Uzumaki he was able to figure out quickly enough. The two of them had similar personalities and abilities due to their relationships with kitsune's. Tsume, on the other hand, fought differently then Kiba did. She was less wild and more controlled. Inuko and Tsume were also use to fighting with three instead of two so their techniques were slightly different then Kiba and Akamaru's.

He adapted of course, one couldn't be a good shinobi if one could not adapt to changing environments. He didn't worry about killing, only knocking out and taking care off. There were too many opponents to worry about following through with a kill.

When the last one went down in a moaning heap, they wasted no time in running back towards the river to meet up with the others.

"What is she thinking?" Tsume questioned as the scent of the others reached them, as well as the scent of blood and many opponents.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, dropping his chakra form, his wounds already healing slowly.

None of them got out unscratched, though none of their wounds were fatal, just annoying. Kyuubi healed Naruto and the youkai blood flowing through Uzumaki and Tsume also increased their healing abilities.

"She's crossing the river." Uzumaki exclaimed in disbelief.

"I though she said not to cross the river." Naruto stated confused.

"Things must be really bad then." Tsume snarled. "Uzumaki."

"Hai. Naruto, you have my permission to walk my lands."

"Huh." Naruto looked at Uzumaki in surprise, but didn't question him.

The sound of the river reached his ears the closer they got, as well as the scent of blood and the scent of many unknown people. There was also a hint of something else he didn't recognize, but none of the others seemed concerned so he dismissed it as unimportant.

Inside, Kyuubi stirred and became a little restless. Naruto ignored the Kitsune in favour of feeling relief when they came into the clearing and spotted the others. Hinata among them and looking relatively uninjured. A quick head count accounted for everyone.

Uzumaki said something to Gaara as they ran past him to join up with the others Naruto wasting no time to get to Hinata's side. She smiled up at him shyly before turning her attention back to the army that appeared before them. That was when all hell broke loose.

(break)

Uzumaki and the others appeared. Naruto seemed confused, but was otherwise following the others lead.

"You have my permission to enter my lands." Uzumaki stated to Gaara as they ran past him.

Gaara blinked in surprise, but did follow Uzumaki and the others across the river to join the others at the forest edge.

"Everyone stop." Meiyo commanded as they reached the tree line and turned about to face the river.

Kannon, still in the body of a falcon, gave a screech indicating imminent danger before landed on the tree branch and cancelling the jutsu. The falcon he had used blinked in surprise, than took off. The first falcon he had used was still asleep and resting on one of Gaara's suna sleds.

"Iruka, Genma, down on your knees with heads bowed now." Meiyo shouted once they had stopped.

Both shinobi looked at her in surprise, but did follow her orders.

Kenari and Yashero appeared on the other side of the river. Kenari came to a halt, her hounds whimpering and refusing to go further. She called her warriors to stop, but Yashero sneered and his warriors continued forward.

"_No doubt her hounds have picked up the scent of the taiyoukai of these lands and know better than to cross the river. Kenari knows to trust her hounds' instincts and has called a halt. And, once again, Yashero-san's stupidity is shown as his warriors cross the river. Baka's. At the rate they are going he will have no shinobi left by the end of this race._" Meiyo thought in contempt.

At her feet Genma and Iruka twitched, clearly wanting to rise up to defend themselves from the attackers who had foolishly crossed the river.

"Do not move." Meiyo repeated firmly.

The ground trembled, the trees shock. Yashero's warriors came to a stop, a look of pure terror and horror on their faces.

"Do not move." Her voice was calm.

She was not worried about her or the other children safety. The lord and lady of this land refused to harm children, but adults were considered corrupted and often tainted and unwelcome.

Behind her, Kageko stood ready to use her _Kagemane_ to hold them both in place if necessary.

Her fur was a bright, golden, yellow. Six tails lashed behind the female Kitsune that landed between them and the enemy shinobi. The ground shock as she landed and she bared her fangs in a challenging roar before charging Yashero's shinobi. The wiser ones quickly ran back across the river, the not so smart ones standing to fight. They died quickly in the fangs and paws of the furious Kitsune.

"No matter what happens, do not move from the position." Meiyo said firmly as both men looked ready to bolt.

Meiyo had no doubt that their experiences with Kyuubi brought about this reaction in them. Behind her Kageko clasped her hands together, ready to snare them should they bolt.

The kitsune was not as big as Kyuubi had been, maybe a half to a quarter of the size, but the power she wielded was not slight. She chased the men to the river, but stopped at the edge, snarling in rage and frustration.

She would not cross the river as it was no longer on her lands and the men had taken nothing to give her cause to chase them.

Kenari was still standing on the other side, looking slightly disturbed, but remaining calm. Her hounds trembled at her heels. She walked slowly backwards, ordering her charges to do the same.

Meiyo was impressed and upped her respect for the woman. Kenari was one hell of a tracker and a wise woods master. Meiyo silently hoped that a peaceful resolution could be met with the woman as Kenari continued to earn her respect.

The threat gone to her lands, the kitsune turned her attention to them. The shinobi from Konoha and Suna were trembling in fear and apprehension while the shinobi and civilians of Seika were calm and wisely whispering for the others to remain so.

The kitsune walked calmly up to Genma and Iruka, who were both trembling in fear and awe at the might of the creature standing before them. She stopped and lowered her head, sniffing each of them once, then stood up and paced around them.

"You smell of blood." She stated, her voice soft and loud all at the same time. "You have spilt blood in the past, though I do not scent the smell of innocent blood upon you."

She stopped before Genma.

"You defend these children?" The kitsune question him.

"Hai." He stammered out.

She lifted her paw to her mouth and nipped it, then held her paw above his head, allowing a single drop of her blood to land upon him.

"You have my permission to walk these lands for as long as you are here and defend these children. But the moment you spill innocent blood, your life will be forfeit should you touch these lands again. Should you wish to enter these lands after leaving, you must once again ask for permission"

She turned her attention to Iruka, sniffing him, than took several steps back in clear surprise.

"In all of my life I have never met an adult as pure as you. You do not smell of blood and have an innocents around you I have never seen before." She declared.

She raised her paw to her mouth and nipped it again, allowing five drops of blood to land on Iruka's head before moving her paw around and, somehow, managing to remove his forehead protector and draw a symbol on his forehead with the blood she had spilt on him without harming him.

"For as long as you live you have my permission to walk these lands and the lands of my family ere the day you draw innocent blood." She declared. "For never have I seen one with a soul as pure as yours."

She took several steeps back, than shimmered and was enveloped it a golden light before shrinking down to human size. When the light left her, the kitsune stood before them in human form.

Golden eyes were still slit and all six tails still stood behind her. Her hair was golden red and her kimono was the most elegant thing any human had ever laid eyes on.

"Meiyo-chan, it has been a while." The kitsune greeted her.

"Deryala-sama, please forgive our intrusions onto your lands, but we were in a bad fix." Meiyo bowed polity to her.

"The children of our long time standing allies of Seika are always welcomed on these lands." Deryala declared.

"Arigato." Meiyo bowed again.

Daryala turned to Tsume next.

"Katsuki-sama's Heir is always welcomed on these lands." Daryala bowed politely to Tsume. "It is good to see you again Tsume-san."

"I thank you for permitting me to visit your lands, Daryala-san." Tsume bowed politely back.

Daryala turned to look at Naruto and Gaara.

"Perhaps introduction and explanations about you two are best left for latter." Daryala commented.

"Ah, sure." Naruto stated, clearly confused as to what was going on.

Gaara merely bowed politely to her.

With the absence of bloodshed, the shinobi from Konoha and Suna were slowly starting to relax a little. It was clear to them that this Kitsune was a friend of those from Seika.

"Now that the formalities are aside, are you just passing through or can I convince you to come to the castle to rest for a while and share news?" Daryala asked.

"I would appreciate that." Meiyo answered. "We have many wounded and chakra deprived among us."

"Then let us go to the castle, where we will tend to your wounded and you may rest before continuing your journey."

"Yeah." The kids from Seika shouted.

Now that all formalities were aside, Meiyo stepped aside and Uzumaki went flying past her strait for the Daryala.

"Obasan." Uzumaki shouted as he caught the kitsune woman up in a giant hug.

"Uzumaki-chan." Daryala greeted the excited boy warmly.

"How are Jiichan and Bachan doing?" Uzumaki demanded.

Daryala chuckled. "They are fine."

As if the ice had been shattered, the rest of the children from Seika swarmed the kitsune, having absolutely no fear of the powerful creature. Even the teenagers greeted her warmly.

Meiyo turned her attention away from the scene to glance down at a stunned Genma and Iruka, who both looked like landed fish.

"You two can stand up now." She commented casually.

Both adults looked up at her, than slowly got back to their feet. Most of the others from Konoha and Suna were sceptical of the situation and kept a distance from Daryala with one hand always near a weapon.

Naruto was right in there with Uzumaki, as were many of the children from Konoha who had been dragged in by their friends from Seika. Daryala managed to regain order and suggested they start moving.

Meiyo agreed and crisply ordered everyone to stand down and get moving. Now that they were safe on these lands, there was no need to keep a proper formation. She took the lead with Daryala and the others followed in various pairs and groups.

"_By sundown I will finally be able to change my clothes and have a nice, hot bath and wash my hair. We can have a decent, home cooked meal and I can get a full nights rest._" She thought somewhat dreamily.

"You have others with you not of Seika." Daryala commented.

"Hai." She agreed, her voice showing her exhausting for the first time as her adrenaline finally ran out.

Behind her she could see the other shinobi start to show the same signs of exhaustion. Many were leaning on others for support and Sakura, Hinata, Chiyu and Doku were going through the ranks, stopping the worse of the bleeding and taking care of anything that could be a danger before they made it to the castle. Everyone was going to sleep deeply tonight.

Right now Meiyo just wanted to sleep walk, but Daryala was owed an explanation. The children of Seika had long been permitted to seek amity on these lands. It was only fair for Meiyo to explain why she had brought others with her and the possible danger she had brought to these lands.

She explained the situation to a silent Daryala, who listen with clear interest. Her parents had fought Vouma-sama after all and were long standing allies of Seika. The news of Kyuubi stunned the kitsune, but Daryala wanted to consult with her parents first before making a move against Naruto.

Eventually Meiyo grew too exhausted to continue the story, going so far as to actually having to drop the byakugan. Daryala thanked her and moved forward to walk alone; clearly wanting to think on the news she had learned. Meiyo just grinned and allowed Tsume to catch her as she finally permted herself to pass out.

* * *

Well, there is the next chapter, sorry it took so long but I didn't like parts of it and had to change it before posting. I put Meiyo as the main Character for this fight to introduce the reader to some of her abilities and gain an understanding of just how powerful she is. The rest of the story should focus on the group from Konoha now.

The kitsune family will be around for a few chapter, than I don't think we see them again. Mostly they are just an introduction to Uzumaki's family, we will meet Tsume's later, as in the next book latter.

Next chapter we return to Kurenai and the kids and should be a faster update. See you then.


	29. Chapter 29

-1Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto

Chapter 29

The Kids Gift

Kurenai was disturbed by what they had witnessed on the mirror that morning. Where they even still alive? What had and is happening? Why get Genma and Iruka to kneel? They were questions that could not be answered until after Katsu recovered from forcing the jutsu to last so long.

Meiyo and the other children from Seika had all seemed calmed and not at all alarmed at the arrival of the large kitsune. This kitsune had looked completely different from Kyuubi.

Kyuubi had reddish brown fur that was shorthaired, red eyes, and had a scrawny appearance. This one had golden fur that was longhaired, golden eyes, and had a firm, but not stocky, build. It was like comparing a greyhound to a Labrador retriever.

After the Jutsu had been cancelled, she had helped Katsu into bed. Alara had left, much to the disappointment of the children who had wanted Inoshi and the others to stay again, and hadn't seemed to be in a good mood to begin with. Geki had returned the boys back to the house before leaving on what he claimed was an important mission.

She probably could have stayed at the house and talked to the boys, but the children demanded her attention and as their current surrogate mother, she could not abandon them just to talk to the others about something she had no control over.

She had been very impressed with Shikamaru and the others. They had worked well together for having not really fought together before. They hadn't been able to see too much of Meiyo's fighting since the screen had been set to Shikamaru, but Kurenai was starting to suspect that the girl was holding back.

The summoning of the giant snake had taken everyone by surprise. The fact that Meiyo had confronted, managed to move, and got away from Kisame and Itachi was testimony itself as to just how good the girl really was. Unfortunately, without having seen her in that fight, there was no way to gage just how strong she truly was or if she had done it alone or with the help of others.

"_She must at least be Jounin, of that there is no doubt. Her Kaiten was stronger then Neji's and Neji isn't exactly a low end Jounin, even though he is fresh to the rank. Kannon's ability to control birds, while useless in a fight, has certainly been used to their full advantage. I wonder what Inoshi thinks about that idea._"

Kurenai's thoughts were interrupted the moment she closed the gate connecting her house to the hotel. The children swarmed her, demanding to know if Katsu was all right. It took her a few seconds, but she managed to get them calmed down and simply explained that he had used up all of his chakra.

They calmed right down after that, than started to complain that they were hungry. She sighed, but was thankful for the distraction as they grabbed her hands and dragged her to the kitchen.

The larder had been fully stocked and she gathered half the kids to set the table and the other half to help cook. Inuki barked her encouragement from Kento's head as the boy chopped vegetables with amazing speed and skill.

Everyone chattered pleasantly about what they were going to do with the pond and Kiri had even been elected to be dismissed from helping as she was both drawing a map at the others direction, and looking at the garden with her Byakugan so there was no argument as to where things were.

Kurenai was impressed the little girl was practicing the use of her byakugan in simple ways that would help her master it later in her training. Looking through walls was one of the first steps.

Once lunch had been prepared, everyone sat around the table looking at the large map drawn out on graph paper while eating.

"I think the plants should be vines to better give secrecy." One girl explained, pointing at the gazebo. "We can get fencing for them to climb."

"I like it. We should get the white flower one." Kiri added.

Kurenai wrote the description of the plant down on the list of supplies they would need. None of them knew what it was called, but the description would be adequate for Inoshi's wife. Kurenai hopped Katsu would let her bring the woman in to help plant the flowers and plan the gardens.

"We are going to need wood and nails and hammers for the bridge." Kento added.

Kurenai added wood, nails, and hammers under the side labelled 'bridge' and fencing under the side labelled 'gardens.'

"The flowers should be the short ones that have lots of little flowers with some of the taller ones in the back closer to the fence." Kiri stated, showing which areas she meant on the map for emphasis.

"I agree." Another girl agreed.

"Me to." Another piped up.

Kiri wrote short flowers and tall flowers on the map.

"We should make a hedge along the fence dividing the yards." Kento suggested.

Inuki barked in agreement.

Lunch plates were tossed aside as everyone poured over the map. Kurenai absently cleaned up, not wanting to interrupt their power, planning spree, stopping ever so often to jolt down supplies on the ever growing list, which now included tiles for paths and shrubs for hedging.

They were just wrapping up when Geki walked in. The kids looked up to see who had disturbed them, then grinned.

"Did you get them Geki-san?" Kento demanded, moving from his post at the table to run up to greet the man.

"Hai." Geki answered.

"Great. Kiri-chan?"

"On it Kento-kun." Kiri saluted before running up to Kurenai. "Come on, you can't see yet." Kiri insisted, pulling on her hand.

Kurenai was confused as to what was going on, but Geki seemed to be in on the plan so it had to be all right. Kurenai let Kiri pull her out of the room and into the kitchen, where Kiri pulled the mats across the door and than got her to help start cleaning lunch up.

Kurenai was curious as to what the kids could possibly be up to. Kento didn't come to get them until after lunch was all cleaned up. He was holding a strip of cloth in his hands.

"Alright, almost ready, but you have to close your eyes." Kento demanded.

Kurenai closed her eyes and kneeled down so Kiri could tie the cloth around her head. The kids were taking no chances. Kento and Kiri both took one hand and led her outside, judging by distance and direction traveled and the fact that the sun was shinning and grass was under her bare feet.

They spun her in several circles to confuse her, then led her across the lawn several times and continued to spin her until she had to admit she was hopelessly lost as to where in the yard they were.

She didn't have to kneel down this time as Geki untied the headband.

"Can I open my eyes now?" She asked.

"Hai." The children coursed.

She opened her eyes to see that they were standing in front of the pond. The two new fish were easy to spot giving how much bigger then the other fifteen they were. One was white and black, the other white and red. Both were twice the size of the little ones.

She was stunned that the children would have done this. She could only assume the kids had seen the koi at the pet shop and had convinced Geki to buy them in their stead since they didn't have any cash or tokens.

"Do you like them?" Kiri asked.

"Hai." She stammered.

They were clearly supposed to represent Katsu and herself. She was surprised the kids would have done this, but she should have expected it. In their eyes, there was nothing wrong with her and Katsu being together.

They were too young to truly comprehend the situation. Kento and Kiri had a vague idea that she was doing something for him in order to pay for their freedom, but Katsu was still playing a father role to them right now as she was playing the mother role. So to their little minds the two of them were 'father' and 'mother.'

"Do you think Katsu-sama will like them?" Kento asked worried.

"Hai, he will love them." She reassured him with a smile.

Like all little boys, they worried about what their 'father' thought of them, and right now Katsu was playing that role.

She had no doubt Katsu would love the two koi and what they were meant to represent. Her main insecurity with Katsu was that she wasn't sure just where she stood in Katsu's ideals. He certainly didn't treat her like a slave. If she were to compare their relationship with culture, it would be more along the lines of the dominant husband and submissive, obedient wife.

That was a topic best left alone. She didn't want to dwell on what the future might or might not hold. Only one thing was clear right now, she was going to have to put up with Katsu for a long time.

Temari's estimation on moving times had been dead on. If they were caught in the snow, and it did snow a lot earlier up north and higher up, it would take even longer for them to get anywhere and their best bet would be to wait the winter out at Meiyo's base and train together.

Then they would have to travel to Seika to try and get help, which could take time to negotiate, and probably sail home or fight their way through the caves and the portal. In the best, they could make it to Suna by late April or early May, right around when she was due, of all the bloody times to arrive.

If she was still pregnant she would have to find someplace to hide, as she would be so deep into her third trimester she would be lucky to move, depending on how big she got. On the bright side she would be able to distract the kids under the pretence of getting them to defend her, and she had no doubt she would need defending.

If they attacked right after she gave birth, she might be able to help if she hadn't been resealed. Perhaps she should become the perfect, obedient woman for Katsu and gain his trust. Than he might not seal her again and her chances of being able to help during the counter strike would be assured.

She forced the thoughts aside for the moment. Now was not the time to dwell upon them. Right now the children were looking up at her expectantly.

"How did you pay for them?" She asked the beaming kids.

"We have to shovel snow and rake leaves to pay Geki-san back." Kento answered.

"But it's worth it if you like it." Kiri smiled. "Sometime you have to do something you hate to pay for doing something for someone you like."

Kurenai smiled, recognizing the statement as coming from the one she had told them regarding her and Katsu's relationship.

"We need to get digging." Kento declared.

"Hai." The others agreed.

Kurenai sat down and watched the kids set to work with the tools they had found in the hotel and the few Geki had found for them around the village. Geki even joined them, helping to dig out a big rock they had hit.

The girls were cleaning up the garden around the pond, pulling all the dead plants out and pilling them into a wheel barrel Geki would dispose of later and continued to talk about their plans, a white gravel path making its way in and Kiri stopped to draw it on their map.

Evening came and they cleaned up their mess. Geki offered to treat them all for dinner if they cleaned themselves up and promised to behave. This offer was met by a round of cheers as they raced up stairs to clean up and get dressed up in their 'out' kimono's.

Kurenai did a check of everyone, adjusting a thing here, retying an obi there. Kiri helped a lot, being from a noble family she had lots of experience. When everyone was presentable, they headed out in a line with Geki in the lead and her bringing up the rear.

He led them to small restaurant that seemed to be expecting them seeing as how a bunch of tables had been set together to seat all of them. To her surprise, Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, and a tired Katsu were waiting for them.

"Katsu-sama." The children greeted warmly.

"Please, take a seat so we might celebrate the wonderful news of Kurenai's pregnancy." He smiled at them.

Kurenai took the seat by his side, Kento and Kiri flanking them. The others spread out and sat around the table with the adults spread out through them. The waiter came and Katsu made sure the children ordered first. A round of Sake was also ordered for the adults to toast the event.

Kurenai was stunned he was doing this, but wasn't overly surprised. The children told Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma all about their planned pond and garden. Gai got excited over it and Kakashi had to kick him under the table to calm him down.

Of course Gai wanted to help in this spirited and youthful endeavour. To her surprise, Katsu agreed. The table fell silent.

Gai looked ready to cry as he thanked him. The children cheered before calming down as their food arrived. If it was one thing about children, it was that they had a short attention span and could only put all of their energy into one thing at a time. Food usually won the power struggle.

"Arigato, Katsu-sama." She whispered in true appreciation.

Gai had been going crazy locked up in the house. Card games could only entertain for so long and he was a high-energy person. Gai was just a kid in an adult's body.

He smiled and stole a kiss from her. She steeled her will and lightly returned it. He seemed a little surprised, but did deepen it. He broke the kiss as their food arrived. The kids responded with a typical, 'eew' response. The boys didn't say anything, but it was clear they were not happy with it.

They ate dinner peacefully, the children actually well behaved and polite. Of course they finished first and started talking to Gai about their plans for the koi pond and gardens.

Kurenai ate more slowly, glancing at Katsu out of the corner of her eye. He was also eating slowly and was clearly still exhausted. Briefly she wondered if he would have the chakra to redo the technique the next morning.

When dinner was finished they ordered ice cream, much to the delight of the children. Even she had a little and ate slowly, savouring the flavour. Katsu had declined any, but he did eat a little chocolate, the sugar and caffeine giving him a bit of an energy boost.

Geki led the kids' home when they were finished and a little tired from their long day working outside. Katsu asked Geki to see them to bed and sent the boys with him to make sure the kids did go to bed.

The children thanked him once again for the dinner and ice cream before following Geki and the boys back to the hotel. Tomorrow was a Friday so Katsu had giving the boys permission to spend the night, much to the delight of the children. Kurenai was slightly pleased she would not be there to deal with the hyper, excited kids. It served the men right to have to go through what she went through everyday.

Katsu leaned against her on the way back to their house, clearly still exhausted and chakra deprived. Kurenai helped him back into bed before taking off, folding, and putting away her kimono and nestling against him, as he demanded. She hated it, but lived with it. There was nothing she could do to stop him that she would be willing to take the punishment for.

Her chakra was slowly returning and she was feeling better for it, but it would not last. Her child would slowly start to draw more and more of her chakra. Kabuto would have to unseal a bit more of her chakra by the end of next week as Katsu would be unable to feed her his own if he kept draining himself.

He pulled her into his grasp and nestled against her, placing as few kisses on her neck. His hand absently stroked her stomach and he murmured something into her ear that she didn't catch.

He fell asleep quickly. Her mind refused to shut down. She kept playing the events she had witnessed earlier today over and over in her mind. Would they find the children slaughtered when they watched the next day? Would everyone still be alive? What had happened to them?

Her mind refused to let it go. When she did fall asleep, she never noticed and woke up the next morning in surprise when Katsu shifted next to her.

(break) Not sure if it really deserves a warning, but very mild torture.

Alara's condition didn't change her disposition towards him any. The room remained the same with all of her tools mounted on the wall. The brazier was still set up and occasionally lit to heat the room, and as a silent reminder to his branding and her ownership of him.

His marks were always clearly displayed, she made sure of that. His hair was always tied back to make sure the mark on his forehead was clear.

Shikaku had been furious and had, indeed, done something stupid. Alara had to beat him unconscious to stop the enraged man from attacking her, than had punished him for attacking her in the first place. Just what Alara had done to Shikaku only the two of them knew, but his yelps of pain had caused Inoshi to winch in sympathy the entire eight hours she had locked them both up into this hell of a room.

He didn't know if his wife knew about the branding or about Alara's condition, they hadn't seen her since Alara had let him speak to her last, though he was sure Shizune had managed to get a message out to her. As agreed in his contract with Alara, he pleased her as she commanded. He hated every moment of it, causing her the pleasure she demanded and taking the pain she delivered.

She loved to hear him whimper, to grunt in pain while taking her pleasure of his body. Most of all, he hated her condition. It would have been foolish to think that she could use him this long without getting what she wanted, but their was always that chance that she might be barren.

It was what his wife was going to think about Alara's condition that worried him the most. Would she understand? She might as she was married to a Shinobi and understood that sometimes he had to play a role he didn't like during his missions, as had happened in the past. He had never been unfaithful to her, never going outside what the mission demanded of him, despite offers from others.

But he had never gotten another pregnant; he had made sure of that. This time he had no control over the situation. He could have fought her, and for the longest time he had, but without his chakra he could not efficiently fend her off, and the woman's threat to his family and friends were not to be trifled with.

Alara loved to dominate, so he wasn't surprised when he found himself on his back, wincing in pain from the fresh welts on his back where Alara had taken out her frustration at being unable to watch the children's confrontation with the Kitsune. She had pinned him to the wall with a set of kunai, his hands still hurt from the punctures, and had proceeded to use one of her tools to beat his back and legs until he was all but hanging from the kunai pinning his hands to the wall. The bit in his mouth had acquired many more splinters from his teeth.

He himself was beyond worried for his daughter's life and health, but Meiyo and the others hadn't seemed alarmed in any way so he felt a little more confident about her situation. While he didn't trust the kitsune at all, Kyuubi being foremost in his mind, the kitsune had not attacked the children, only the adults that had been chasing them. This one also hadn't looked anything like Kyuubi.

His thoughts were interrupted when pain flared in his neck from where her teeth had torn skin, causing him to yelp in shock and pain.

"Pay attention to me." She snarled at him, thrusting her body down upon his harder, electing a whimper of pain from him as pressure was laid upon the welts on his back.

Unsatisfied, she thrust down harder, causing him grunt, but he refused to yelp for her. Satisfied that she had his attention again, she continued molesting him normally, which was roughly and very much like a wild animal. His chest was already bleeding from the numerous rents her nails had made.

He tried to shift to alleviate some of the pain from his back and thighs, but she had tied him down and the most he could move was to shimmer his hips left or right a bit. He bit his lip and road the pain until she was finally finished with him.

She didn't bother to untie him either. She just stood up and left, most likely to take a shower. She didn't always share his bed, sleeping in the other room at times, mostly for his own health as she had a tendency to get vicious when she was angry and she had come close to hospitalizing him in the past.

Now free from her torment, his mind returned to his child and her friends and what they had learned. It was clear that Temari and Shikamaru's relationship seemed to be flourishing under the conditions presented to them. He was glad of that. Shikamaru needed someone like Temari to motivate him just like Shikaku needed his horror of a wife. It was a union many in Konoha and Suna hoped to see to cement the alliance between both villages.

Ino clearly seemed to have found an interest as well. Naruto's comment about separating her from Uchiha Keiji had his foremost attention. When Ino had been younger she had chassed after Sasuke, and had giving up on him when he had left Konoha, though how much was infatuation and how much was just to push Sakura on he would never know, though he suspected the later to be the more truthful.

From what little they had seen of Keiji the boy seemed kind enough and strong enough, as expected from an Uchiha. He seemed to be genuinely concerned about Ino's health, he had rescued her before he had even learned who she was after all.

Like any father he was concerned for his daughter and dearly wished he could talk to his wife about it, but he also feared to confront his wife giving the current situation he was enrolled in.

Everyone from Konoha seemed to be fine and the children from Seika seemed very able and friendly enough, though the girl, Meiyo, concerned him a little.

There was no doubt she was a Hyuuga, and judging by the lack of a curse seal, that she was from the head family. Her power seemed great and she was a natural leader, giving her commands efficiently and having them followed without question. She was easily a Jounin and seemed just as powerful, if not more so, then any of the escapees from Konoha.

The relationship between Nara Kageko and Yamanaka Kannon interested him. They were so different from Shikaku and him. Kannon was a smart-ass and Kageko the most demanding, commanding woman he had ever seen. Not even Ino was that commanding. What intrigued him the most was Kannon's ability to use his _Shintenshin_ on birds, falcons clearly being his preference.

He had tried it once on an animal, a squirrel if he recalled correctly, to amusing results. Squirrels didn't have thumbs so he had modify the hand seal a bit. It had been interesting to say the least, but he had decided afterwards to stick to humans. Now he was wishing he had pursued that avenue of study.

Clearly it had taken Kannon years to master it and he didn't have the time to try and learn all that fun stuff. He was getting too old. But Ino was still young and if they could convince Kannon to teach her, an all knew generation of Yamanaka's would emerge.

It should also be dully noted that he had no objections to Ino making a relationship with Keiji. Having a marital alliance with the Uchiha family would not be a bad thing and Keiji clearly showed that he was both able and willing to protect Ino, though he would personally have to meet and talk to the boy before consenting to have the boy take his only daughter's hand. One could only learn so much through a screen.

Their other guard opened the door to his room, crossed the floor, and untied him before leaving again. He rubbed his sore wrist and instantly rolled off of his back, alleviating some of the pain he had been laying in for hours.

He stood up and stumbled to the small bathroom connected to this room. He turned his back to the mirror and sighed at the number of red welts covering him. He took a cloth and cleaned the blood from her nails off of his chest before spreading an ointment on them to prevent infections and close the wounds. He redid the bandaging on his hands and splayed ointment on the deep cuts on his palms.

He looked like hell and it took all of his will power not to smash the mirror that was showing his image back to him. He had come back from missions looking worse then this, but that had been due to battle, not due to one woman's sexual demands on his body.

He pulled the sheets from the bed and pilled them in a corner, winching in pain the whole while before remaking the bed with fresh sheets and crawling in with the intent to try and sleep this abuse of his body off.

His mind was numb, his body throbbing lightly in pain in time with his pulse. Sleep came eventually, but he had no doubt it would be interrupted at some point in the night when Alara got over her fit and would demand the use of him again if she didn't go out and get drunk. He silently prayed it would be the later of her ideals. He was not in the mood to please her again tonight, even if all it meant was him lying on his back while she did all of the work.

* * *

Big thanks for all the reviews. I have full deniability's of World Of Warcarft affecting my ability to update. Mainly it's been work and school. This chapter ends on page 339 of 409, so we are approaching the end of this arc.

Next chapter, some skills are traded and the children rest up in preparation for the last lag of the journey to sanctuary.


	30. Chapter 30

Don't own Naruto.

Re-uploaded foe easier reading.

Chapter 30

Baths and Falcons

Shikamaru didn't know what to think of the situation. It was easier to deal with the situation now that the kitsune appeared to be human, even though he could still feel her overpowering chakra, she had dampened it down for their sake.

The children of Seika were surrounding her, talking quickly about everything they had done and seen on their trip. She had an amused smile on her face as she listened, showing more patience with them then Shikamaru had ever seen a woman have.

"_Why are children always immune to their wrath?_" He wondered idly.

While the children were laughing and pouncing all over the kitsune, the teenagers were limping or being carried by Gaara's suna. Genma and Lee were among those being carried now that their adrenaline had run out. Once again Yashero had worked them both over and he had no doubt they had cracked ribs and big bruises.

Sakura, Hinata, Chiyu and Doku had done what they could, but even they were exhausted and resting now on Gaara's suna sleds. Most of the Chuunin were resting and most of the Jounin were limping, minus Naruto, Uzumaki, and Tsume. They hadn't done much fighting, just diverting and trap jumping.

Meiyo, having yet to wake up after their initial encounter with the kitsune, was dead asleep on Gaara's suna sled. Ino and Keiji were leaning on each other for support, though how much of it was because they was tired and how much of it was because they just wanted to lean on each other was up for debate.

Uzumaki and Naruto were talking excitedly. Naruto seemed intrigued by the kitsune, and Shikamaru guessed that was only natural seeing as how Naruto had one sealed in side of him and had dealt with Kyuubi for over three years. Of course the boy wouldn't be afraid of a mere six-tailed one when he could call upon the powers of a nine-tailed one.

The woman was leading them at a moderate place through a forest one might have called enchanted. The entire escapade with Genma and Iruka confused him. Why had both men needed to kneel? Why had the kitsune dropped blood on their heads? These were just some of the questions he vowed to ask Meiyo when the girl woke up again.

Tsume was hovering over Meiyo in concern and was talking quietly and quickly with Kannon. Kannon was no longer leaving a trail of blood, but he still walked gingerly and his hand was clasped onto his shoulder from where the needle had hit the falcon's wing.

The sun was setting when they made it to the castle, which looked like an old Japanese one. It was beyond amazing, large fields of flowers and many gardens with ponds and fountains sparkled in they setting sun. It was perhaps the most mystical place in the world, but that was not what he was thinking at the moment.

Curled up on the large lawn before the castle was two more Kitsunes, both fully grown and with nine tails swishing behind them.

The children from Seika cried in delight and rushed to meet them with Uzumaki and Tsume. The two Kitsune's appearing very noble in their pose, turned their heads to great them, but remained laying down and didn't seem at all disturbed with the horde of children petting their fur and climbing all over them like excited pups.

Shikamaru's mind was just too damn tired to try and work the scene out. The female who had been traveling with them returned to her true form, seeming dwarfed against whom he assumed to be her parents.

Like her, these two had golden fur. One had green eyes, the other a startling blue. Both exuded power and confidence, and something else that felt homely and calm. He felt no malice coming from them at all.

The three kitsune spoke in a language he didn't. They seemed to come to some sort of conclusion as the male stood up slowly and walked away. The two females shimmered and changed until both were in human form.

If he had thought the daughter had been amazing, the mother could have stopped a raging battle.

The rest of the group caught up to the now calmed down children, who were looking ready to fall asleep after the excitement of the day. He noticed Zihna wake up Meiyo, who was looking rather haggard, but was able to stand steadily.

"Meiyo-chan, it is good to see you." The woman stated with a warm smile that enveloped the sun as they stopped before her.

"Kitaria-sama." Meiyo bowed politely. "Please excuse our intrusion upon your noble house, but we have many wounded and children who need to be tended to. I humbly ask for your permission to rest and recover and receive whatever aide you and your honored mate would be willing to bestow upon is."

"_Very formal._" Shikamaru noted.

"The children of our long standing ally, Seika, are always welcomed on these lands to seek aid. Please follow me, my daughter and I will tend to your wounded. The children may seek whatever room they desire on the first floor and your warriors may seek whatever room they desire on the second."

"Arigato, Kitaria-sama for your assistance." Meiyo bowed again, than followed the woman and her daughter into the elaborate estate.

"_This place is gigantic._" He thought stunned.

Having come from a fair distance, he hadn't realized just how big the castle was. It had been built to accommodate the kitsune family in their true forms. It was far more elegant then anything he had ever seen or even dreamed, the walls covered in amazing art and the carpet rich and soft. It felt sacrilegious to even be walking these halls.

A hushed silence fell over the group, though it was a peaceful one as opposed to a frightened or dispirited one. The room they were led to appeared to be an infirmary of some sort.

Hinata, Sakura, Chiyu, and Doku took command and got those less injured to help those worse off change into the hospital robes provided and tucked into beds before going through the ranks and dismissing or restraining others.

Naruto, Shino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Hanabi, Konohamaru, Temari, Gaara, Kankurou, Tenten, the Genin, Iruka and the children were cleared to leave by Sakura's command, though they were ordered to sternly rest to recover chakra and let bruises heal.

Kiba, Genma, Neji, Lee, Ino, and Choji were sternly ordered to bed with various degrees of injuries.

Kiba had taken multiple hits and had many deep cuts from Yashero's chakra wires before Hinata had cut him free and Genma and Lee had re-caught the mans attention.

Neji had also been tired up in a set of wire when Kenari had used them to stop his _Kaiten_. As a result he had all but been sliced to ribbons. Kenari had zapped him with electricity through the wire before Tenten had thrown a kunai to slice the wires.

Genma had bruises, concussions, cracked ribs, and a broken arm from Yashero, who had actually paid a few seconds of attention to the man this time. Yashero had him pinned to a tree and had slowly been chocking him to death before Lee had stepped in. As a result, his neck was heavily bruised and he still had a hard time breathing.

Lee had taken several good hits from Yashero, but after releasing the first of his life gates he had been able to run against Yashero almost evenly with Genma, as wounded as he was, acting as a distraction. Most of his down time was from the side effect of releasing the life gate. He would be fine in a few days.

Ino had been targeted by one of Yashero's men, who had hounded her the entire fight. She had been hit by many needles, all of them disabling and poisoned. Doku had managed to counter the poison. The needles would have to be carefully removed to prevent further damage and a longer recovery rate. Shikamaru was worried about why Ino was suddenly a target when she hadn't been before and feared for his team mate.

Choji was completely out of chakra and energy. He was quickly hooked up to an IV.

Gaara was out of chakra, but otherwise fine and would recover in a while with some rest and down time.

Meiyo's group was also not faring so well.

Kannon had many lacerations that were deep and still hadn't quite recovered form the time he had spent in the wounded falcons body.

Kageko had many burn marks from the Jounin that had lit her on fire and had taken no few poisoned needles herself.

Nikuyaku had taken a sword slash to her leg that had almost cut as deep as the bone.

Genkaku had been pinned down by two of Yashero's warrior and had taken one hell of a beating before Uzumaki had rescued him. He was also completely drained of chakra after setting the multi-layered genjutsu trap behind them.

Then there was Meiyo herself. She was completely out of chakra and he could only imagine what she went through fighting Kisame and Itachi and coming out of it alive. The fact she had sent warning bells through his head that she was stronger then she was letting on. Out of his group, the only two he could think of that might make it in and out alive was Naruto and Gaara.

Now was not the time to ponder though. Tsume took it upon herself to show everyone to their rooms. He was too exhausted to even notice who his sleeping partner was. He just stripped out of his grimy, dirty clothes and crawled under the crisp sheets, asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

(break)

Shikamaru awoke the next morning feeling better then he had in ages. Something soft and warm was nestled against him, one leg wrapped around his and head resting on his chest. He blinked and opened his eyes slowly; not at all surprised to see Temari nestled against him.

It wasn't the fact that she was in his bed that had his heart pounding a million miles a second, nor was it the fact that he was completely and utterly naked, that was past history already. It was the fact that she was just a naked as he was that had his heart hammering.

"_Alright, I remember getting to the castle, seeing the others to medical wing, what about after that?_"

Nothing. His mind was completely blank.

"_Please tell me nothing happened._" He silently prayed as he tried to think of a way to get out of the bed and dressed before she woke up.

She stirred next to him. He was so dead. Her eyes fluttered open and she made that noise some people made in the morning, half moan half groan. She stretched slightly and yawned before returning to her former position.

She nestled against him again, closed her eyes, and her breathing evened out again. She had falling asleep again. He sighed in relief. He would live a little longer at least. He must have drifted asleep again as well because Temari stirring next to him woke him up.

Their positions had changed. Now she was nestled against him with her back to his chest and his arm was hugging her close.

"So warm." She muttered sleepily, her mind obviously not caught up with reality. "What time is it?" She asked.

"I don't know." He admitted after a brief pause to consider rather it was safer to answer or pretend to still be sleeping and pleading innocents.

She made no move to move from their positions.

"I should get up and see to the others." He commented in an attempt to get to freedom.

"Five more minutes." She mumbled.

"_That wasn't what I stated._" He grumbled to himself.

Now that his nose was all but berried into her hair, he noticed she smelled nice. Apparently she had found a bath before joining him in bed. He felt even dirtier now and slightly embarrassed that he had got the bed and her dirty again.

Temari yawned and stretched slightly, than froze. He could feel it. His doom was neigh.

"Are you wearing anything?" She asked the dreaded question.

"Iie." He admitted after several seconds of silent debate over what was the safer course.

"Why not?" She asked.

"I didn't want to sleep in dirty clothes." He answered truthfully. "_And when I went to bed I am sure I was alone._" He added silently.

"I see. And when and how did I get here?" She asked.

"Ano, I woke up and you were here. I assumed you crawled into bed with me." He answered, expecting blood to start flowing any minute.

"After we took our bath, Zihna dropped me off here saying this was my room. She didn't say anything about anyone being in it." Temari growled.

"See, all a complete misunderstanding. I had no plans to do something." He quickly latched on to that.

Temari shifted in his arm to turn and look at him.

"_So dead._" He thought, closing his eyes and expecting the hammer to fall any minute now.

"You still smell like swamp." She commented.

"Nani?"

"Come on. You seriously need a bath." She rolled out of his arm and grabbed a robe that had been left lying on the floor before tossing him another one.

Confused to an all knew level; he decided to just go with her crazy mood at the moment. Unless if she had some elaborate plan to lure him somewhere before she killed him so as not to get blood in the bed.

He pulled the robe on and followed her out of the room and down several halls until they came out at the back of the castle in an elaborate garden with steam rising from what must have been various bathing pools.

The sun wasn't quite up yet, but the sky was bright blue already. The path was gravel, but it was crushed so fine it was almost suna and didn't hurt his bare feet at all. She must have known where she was leading him because she didn't waver taking the twist and turns of the maze until she stopped before a curtain of vines and brushed them aside, mentioning for him to go in.

He hesitated only briefly, wondering how long it was going to take the other to find his body. Temari did something to the sign then joined him, letting the vines fall back over the entrance.

There were two pools here, a small one and a slightly larger one. The larger one had steam coming from it and the smaller one had a stream flowing through it, the effect being a constant supply of clean water.

The shrubs gave the place complete privacy while still leaving the sky crystal clear. A boulder was set between the two springs with the clear intent to rest robes on it, while a small cubby had been carved into it that held several glass jars of cleaning supplies.

"_Amazing_." He thought. "_It must have taken years to have built this place and to grow the trees, let alone just to make the design._"

"All right, strip." Temari commanded.

"Nani." He turned to look at her shocked.

"You sure as hell aren't taking a bath with your clothes on. Take them off." She commanded.

He continued to stare at her blankly.

Sighing, she drew her fan and unfolded it.

He's clothes were off and he was in the cold water before he even realized he had obeyed her, back facing her to retain some dignity.

"Better." Temari smiled as she set her fan down and came up behind him.

The water was freezing and he had to clench his teeth to stop them from chattering. He felt her hand grab the top of his head and had barely got the 'what' out of 'what are you doing?' before she plunged his head under the water.

He came up spluttering. She removed her hand from his head briefly before both starting attacking his scalp and the sweet scent of shampoo hit him.

"I can do that my self." He grumbled in protest at being treated like a child.

If Temari heard him, she ignored him. He realized she was humming some tune to herself as she worked. He resigned himself to the torture. It was far safer to just accept it than to argue.

This time he was able to predict her dunking and saved himself the humiliation by dunking himself and using his own hands to rinse the shampoo out before running out of breath and needing to come up for air.

Temari handed him soap and a cloth and pointed to another small bolder he had missed on his first evaluation of the place. More then happy to get out of the freezing water, he climbed out and sat on the boulder with his back facing her and shivering from the cold.

Behind him he could here the splashing of water, Temari must have been cleaning herself up again. They sat in silence as the sky got lighter and a few puffy clouds made their way across it.

"Are you done yet?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru blinked, than realized he had dozed off for a moment.

"Hai." He answered, standing up and walking backwards to the pool so as to keep himself covered from her view.

This plan worked against him as he missed the pool edge and plunged undignified in, to land right onto Temari, who had been in the process of washing the soap off of her self. The result of the thrashing was for him to end up on top of her with her pinned to the edge and his nose buried in her hair.

"_Roses, she smells like roses._" He noted before the full implication of their situation hit him. "_Shit_."

"Ano." He pulled back and noticed she was blushing slightly, before noticing she was just as naked as he was.

He tried to pull back, but she caught him around the shoulders and pulled him against her.

"Do you think we will make it back?" She asked.

"_Oh kami no. Please, give me anything but an upset female shinobi with the potential to smash my head in._" He silently pleaded. "Of course." He answered.

"Arigato. It is hard to stay optimistic sometimes." She smiled, though he couldn't see it.

His nose was buried in her hair again and he was surprised he rather liked the scent and wasn't in any hurry to move until he remembered they were both completely naked and the water was freezing.

"Temari?"

"Hmm."

"The water in freezing." He commented.

She chuckled and let him go, but not before letting him pull back just enough to get his nose out of her hair just so she could claim his mouth with her own. He was stunned and not sure what to do, having never been met with this particular situation before. She held him against her until he finally relented and hesitantly returned the kiss, knowing she wasn't going to let him go until he did. The sun decided to come up then and the heat from its golden rays fell upon his back, taking some of the chill out of the water.

She finally released his mouth. "If I can stand it, coming from a desert, so can you." She whispered into his ear. "And besides, the water isn't that cold."

He silently agreed with her, but would never admit it. Now free, he pulled back and away from her and proceeded to wash the rest of the soap off while she did the same. She got out first and he didn't dare move until he heard her get into the other spring.

"_Great, now what?_" He grumbled to himself.

He had woken up to both of them naked, she had dragged him here and had proceeded to bathe him like a child, now he had falling against her and, kami forbid, shared a kiss with her. He was doomed.

There was no going back now. Something as intimate as a kiss was what woman saw as both a promise and a claim to ownership. He was hers the moment he had returned it. If he tried to go back now, every female would be against him from here until the rest of eternity.

"_How troublesome._" He sighed to himself as he resigned himself to his fate and joined her in the hot spring.

She nestled against him and he didn't even bother to be surprised at the action as they both looked up at the sky.

"That one looks like a duck." She pointed to one of the clouds floating by.

He smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

(break)

"Owe, move over Naruto."

"You are hogging all the space Ino. Shouldn't you be in the hospital wing?"

"I am fine. Quite hogging all the good space."

"Be quiet, you'll get us caught."

"Goman Niku-chan. How did you know of this place?" Ino asked.

"When you have peeked as long as I have Ino-chan, You just know all the good places." Niku answered with a lecherous grin.

"Oi, something's happening." Naruto called.

"Nani?" Ino turned her attention from the other woman to look down at the spring Shikamaru and Temari were sharing.

"The clothes are off." Naruto declared.

"Hmm, not bad for a short-haired lazy boy." Niku commented.

"He's already taken." Naruto and Ino growled.

"Just making a statement." Niku commented.

"What are you three doing?" Came a challenging voice from behind them.

"Keiji-kun, you'll give away our position." Niku scowled as the two girls pulled him down to join them.

"I get another point." Ino declared.

"If Temari-neesan kisses him we are tied again." Naruto declared.

"Iie, that point goes to Hinata. I heard you asking her about it." Ino countered.

"Yeah, but I told Temari-neesan to do it."

"Half a point than." Ino grumbled.

"Fine, but you only get half a point for using you jutsu on the…"

"Alright, one point than."

Naruto grinned.

"Shh," Niku hushed them.

"What's going on?" Came a timid voice this time.

"Hinata-chan." Naruto grabbed her and pulled her to the ground and against him since that was about the only peeking place left.

"Is that Shikamaru-kun and Temari-chan?" She asked.

"Hai." Everyone answered.

Hinata blushed and averted her eyes when she realized neither one of them were wearing any clothes.

"What is going on?" Keiji demanded.

"Ever since Konoha, Ino and I have had this contest to see who can get the two of them together." Naruto started.

"See, Shikamaru and Temari have liked each other for what, three years? Four?"

"About that." Naruto agreed.

"But they are both too damn stubborn to do anything about it, well, Shikamaru anyways. So we decided to make sure they got together before Shikamaru's procrastination ruined his one and only chance to find a woman." Ino explained.

"The problem is that Shikamaru sees everything involving an ounce of effort as being too troublesome, that's a direct quote by the way, and tends not to do anything. Temari motivates him to do something and gets him moving." Naruto finished.

"I see." Keiji turned his attention back to the two people in the spring.

"Whoa." They all gasped when Shikamaru fell in, to land on top of Temari.

They all moved closer to the edge, eyes wide open in a desperate attempt not to miss anything.

"Tied score." Naruto cheered.

"Damn." Ino cursed.

"Oh." Hinata blushed.

"Boy needs a strong woman to whip him into shape. He calls that a kiss?" Niku muttered.

Keiji just shook his head.

Both of the targets moved to the hot spring, nestled together, and proceeded to watch the clouds drift by.

"The shows over. Nikuyaku, two hundred laps around the palace. Keiji, one hundred, I would have expected better of you." Came a stern voice from behind them, causing all of them to jump in shock and to turn around and stare up at an angry Tsume, Inuko and Inuka at her heals. "I would punish you three as well but you are outside of my jurisdiction." She scowled.

"That's alright." Naruto laughed. "We'll do it anyway."

"Nani." Ino demanded.

"Oh come on Ino, one hundred laps is nothing." Naruto boosted.

"Hinata, Meiyo and Zihna are waiting for us." Tsume commented.

"Hai."

Hinata followed Tsume and the two inunin back to the castle while Niku started on her laps, cursing at the unfairness of it.

"Let's go Ino." Naruto called.

Ino cursed, but the idea of running with Keiji wasn't that bad of one.

They started on their laps, jogging at a set pace and marvelling at the wondrous grounds of the palace. Keiji ran slightly in the lead for the first four laps until they got the lay of the path down right. Then they ran side by side.

"Why did you agree to the laps?" Keiji asked.

"It would have been unfair, and as future Hokage I need to set examples." Naruto answered. "Beside, I bet Tsume's next words would have been a threat to tell Shikamaru and Temari about it."

Naruto had a point there. It would have been way worse had Temari found out about their peeking. Shikamaru would have been too lazy to do anything about it. The palace was rather large and one hundred laps was starting to seem like a daunting task.

Ino was already panting for breath by the sixtieth. Naruto and Keiji were coated in sweat and had discarded their shirts at some point. All three of them were breathing heavily.

The cry of a falcon startles them as one came down low and flew before her, chirping.

"Kannon, what is it?" Keiji demanded.

In answer the falcon chirped in a serious of short and long cries, two short and one long.

"Follow him." Keiji commanded.

"Nani?" Ino asked confused.

"Two short and a long is the code for 'come.' Go on. Kannon could not have gotten free without Chiyu's orders and Meiyo's consent. They must need you for something and on a palace ground this large, getting Kannon to find us from the air is the fastest way to get a message to anyone." Keiji explained.

"Oh."

"Go on Ino. You look ready to drop anyway." Naruto waved her away.

"Like you look any better." She snapped back at him.

"I have Kyuubi, you don't." He answered.

She scowled at him, but did deviate from the path and jogged after the falcon. Kannon led her back the way they had come for several minutes before deviating down one of the many garden paths.

She slowed down to fast walk now that he had perches to wait for her on. She would need to cool down from her exertion anyway. By the time she had cooled down, Kannon led her out of the tree maze and into a large, grassy field with a wooden perch where his body was resting against it.

Not too far away she could see the hospital wing of the palace. Kannon still looked wounded and slightly pale and she bet someone had carried or helped him to that position.

Kannon stopped before his body and picked up a note in his beak before fluttering up onto the wooden perch and turned to look at her expectantly.

She took the note from his beak and read it aloud.

_First make sure the tether is latched onto the falcon's leg, then put the hood on and make sure it is tied firmly, but not tightly. I will break the jutsu than and give you further instructions._

She put the note down and looked at the perch noticing the leather straps with a clip on the end and the small hood. She did the tether first, clipping it on before taking the hood and placing it over his head and tying it.

When she was done she stepped back and looked from the bird to his body. After a few seconds Kannon stirred and his blue eyes blinked open to smile up at her. He shifted and sat up a bit more before leaning against the post again.

"What's going on?" Ino demanded.

"An exchange of skills." He answered.

"Huh?"

"Meiyo-chan and Temari-san reached an agreement with the consent of Hinata-chan and I. I will teach you how to use your _Shintenshin_ on birds, how to break it, how to fly, and the encoded message system we use. In exchange, Hinata will teach Zihna how to use her byakugan for medical purposes." Kannon answered with a grin. "That is if you are interested to learn."

"Hai." She agreed excitedly, joining him on the ground and sitting cross legged before him.

Kami she had wanted to learn the moment she had seen it. Even in battle Kannon had made use of the ability. And she bet flying was one hell of an experience. However, she also remembered all the stories Keiji had told her about Kannon's learning experiences.

"We are going to go methodically as opposed to my crash course training. I had to do everything on my own. You will be guided. Please don't expect to learn this in a day, or even a month. This took me three years to master and I am still working on it.

"First I am going to show you how to cancel the Jutsu without the use of hands. Don't worry about getting trapped. I will be able to cancel it. Just remember that the falcon has a hood on so expect not to be able to see. This will help because visual images won't confuse you. If you start panicking and want the jutsu to be released, let me know with one, loud cry. Understand?"

"Hai."

"Alright. First take over the bird."

Ino clasped her hands together and looked at the bird.

"_Nimpou, Shintenshin no jutsu._" She declared, using the full title of the technique to better concentrate.

It was very strange being in the body of a bird, let alone being blind. Sound was muffled but she could still hear Kannon.

"I'm in." She said, or tried to. It came out as several chirps instead. "_Right no mouth Baka._" She berated herself.

"Alright, step one complete." She could here Kannon saying. "Step two is harder and will take some time. I need you to think about your body, what it feels like to be human, mentally only. I need you to imagine yourself breaking the jutsu without physically going through the motions." Kannon explained.

Ino grinned, or rather the falcon's beak gapped. She broke the technique and blinked her human eyes opened to stare at a stunned Kannon.

"Nani?" She asked innocently.

"How…?"

"Shikamaru and I trained for hours to get me to break the technique without my hands. He wanted me to learn encase if I was ever discovered and restrained or if I had to take over a body that was unable to use its hands, such as a prisoner or a person with a broken arm." She answered.

"Well, that will make things faster than." He admitted once he overcame his shock. "Alright, step two, moving in the new body." Kannon untied the falcon, took it onto his gloved hand, and set it on the ground. "This time I will remove the hood and let you walk around a bit. I'll warn you it is very different then anything you have experienced before."

"Right."

Ino concentrated on the bird and used the _Shintenshin_ again, this time without the long, formal title now that she felt confident about doing it. Her world was dark again, but this time she could feel grass under her talons instead of wood.

She chirped twice to let Kannon know she was in. The hood was removed and she blinked her eyes in shock. Everything looked so different, so vivid, sharper, and magnified a thousand times.

"Alright."

Ino turned cocked her head to look up at Kannon. He looked so much taller and bigger.

"Just walk around for a while and get use to how to body moves. Flap your wings a few good times and take short, hopping glides of you feel up to it, but don't try to fly yet. Landing is a bitch to learn. We will do that another day when we are both up in the air."

She chirped in an affirmative as walked around the grass, finding the waddling a little interesting. She flapped her wings and took his advice, hopping up onto a near by log and trying to glide off of it. Most of her exploits landed in a tail over beak disaster until she learned how to lock her wings and was finally able to feel and measure the air currents.

By late noon she was gliding effortlessly from boulder to tree to stump, and back again. Every time she tried to flap her wings she was thrown off course and landed horribly. Landing was interesting and took the longest to learn. Just because she could glide between her targets didn't mean she could land on them pleasantly.

They took a break at lunch and Kannon warned her not to break the jutsu until after the falcon was secured again. It was a wild bird and they would lose an eye and an arm if the bird wasn't properly restrained.

She blinked her eyes open and took several second to readjust to human vision, which now seemed duller and unfocused after seeing through the eyes of a falcon for so long.

"Not bad." Kannon commented.

"Looks like you are doing better then expected." Keiji commented as he joined them, lunch in a basket he set down. "I didn't expect you two to be this far yet."

"Ino-chan here could already cancel the technique without her hands." Kannon answered. "Training Shikamaru forced upon her apparently."

"Never knew when I would have to take over a body that didn't have the use of his or her hands." Ino explained to Keiji's questioning look.

"A good point. How were your first flights?" He asked.

"I can glide between targets, but I still can't land right." She admitted.

"Landing is what takes the longest." Kannon explained.

"Really? I would have thought the gliding in circles was what took the longest to overcome considering how long it took you to get use to it." Keiji chuckled.

"I was never a fan of merry-go-rounds." Kannon admitted.

"Raptors spin in circles while hunting, don't they?" Ino commented.

"Hai, and it will give your stomach one hell of a twist." Kannon admitted. "Landing is just a physical pain to get over, but once over it you're over it. The spinning you will either learn to handle, or not. If you can't handle it, there are always plenty of other bird to master."

"Why did you choose the falcon?" Ino asked curiously.

Kannon smiled.

"Because they are the best of the birds. Swift and fast like a swallow, yet still as able in the air as a hawk. Eagles are too big and easily noticed and many of the smaller birds are just too small and unable to fly for long distances, not so good for long scouting missions. Falcons are the best for scouting, but I will use Ravens if a Falcon isn't handy."

"Have you ever thought of training a falcon partner?" She asked curiously.

"Hai, but it takes a lot of time and effort and right now we are too busy and I don't have the time I would need to devote myself to the task. I would need one not even fledged and they are only born in the spring so I will have to wait anyway unless if I can get a Shinobi trained one, but they are all on duty right now at the battle front."

"I see."

They ate the rest of lunch in silence. After lunch they continued until dusk, when it was getting hard to see. She discovered falcons had horrible night vision. Kannon released the falcon by flying it up into the air before cancelling the jutsu so they wouldn't lose arms and eyes to the bird when they took the hood off.

Keiji led them both to the main hall where everyone had gathered to eat dinner together. To Ino's shock, everyone was completely healed physically, even Genma and Lee. Only chakra had yet to be returned.

And speaking of chakra, she was dead tired and in serious need of some good food, all of which was laid before them. Baths, beds and food. It looked like Kami was looking after them for once.


	31. Chapter 31

Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 31

Model Servant

Kurenai woke to the morning birds greeting the new day. Beside her Katsu was still sleeping. She yawned and stretched before climbing out of the bed and getting dressed.

"_Wow, for once I woke up before he did. Must be a sign of how truly exhausted he is._" She noted.

A glance out the window showed they sky overcast and rain looked imminent. Good, things were getting too dry again and a fire was an honest threat. She looked back down at Katsu, who was still sleeping deeply and showed no signs of stirring.

Having never woken up before him, she wondered what his reaction would be to waking up in an empty bed.

"_Well, he can't get mad at me for it, especially if breakfast is offered. It's not like he has ever made an order against it._"

Decision made, she went down the stairs to where the Kakashi and Asuma were in the middle of cooking the morning meal, of which eggs and other forms of grease were absent, while Geki sat at the table and shuffled a deck of cards.

"Ohayo." She greeted everyone.

"Ohayo, Kurenai-chan." Everyone chirped back.

"It is rare for you to come down first." Asuma commented.

"I don't think I ever have." She admitted.

"Katsu-sama?" Geki asked.

"Still sleeping." She answered with a covered yawn. "Or so it seemed when I left."

She took a seat at the table and Kakashi offered her a plate of breakfast while Asuma poured her tea.

"Arigato." She thanked them, "but I am not infirm yet." She smiled.

"There is nothing wrong in doing something nice." Kakashi chilled her.

She glanced at him, but since his back was turned to her she couldn't make a judgment call.

She set into her meal, listening to the morning chatter between the three boys. Geki was telling them about the children's koi pond. Gai had dragged everyone out of bed at dawn and they were all already working on it.

Kurenai sighed and vowed to push Gai into said pond. She would have to rescue the children from his youthful proclamations before it got out of hand.

She finished eating first and took a platter with food and tea up to Katsu. Knowing her luck he would be awake by now. She slid open the door and wasn't surprised to discover she was right. Katsu was leaning against the headboard and looked up at her as she entered.

"Ohayo, Katsu-sama." She greeted respectfully with a slight bow.

She brought the try to him and he took it out of her hands, resting it on his lap.

"The others are awake?"

"Hai, Katsu-sama. Gai has the children working on the pond already." She answered, head bowed slightly in submission.

Kami she hated this. She felt like some pet inu, but she had to earn his trust if she was to convince him not to reseal her after the child was born. Unless if Suna decided to up and come to their rescue without the consent of their Kazekage, or elects a new one who decides to help them, she was going to be trapped here until that time.

She felt like a fool standing there so she got down onto her knees next to the bed. Katsu glanced over at her and ran his fingers through her hair before returning to his meal.

"_Now that had to be the most degrading thing in my life_." She snarled inward, visualizing a rather bloody death for the man. Outward she remained just as calm and obedient.

When he finished she took his plate, stood up, and bowed her way out. She felt like some sort of concubine, but she was willing to do whatever it took to secure her chakra. She handed the plate off to Asuma, who was doing the dishes.

Geki was already gone and Kakashi was cleaning up breakfast. Katsu came down the stairs just as she was standing at the bottom debating on what to do next. He stopped next to her and grinned before catching her mouth with his own. Closing her eyes, she returned the kiss as deeply as he gave it.

He pulled back and looked her in the eye. She bowed her head and looked aside. He caught her chin and forced her to look up at him.

"I will be back at noon at the latest. I wish for you to check on the children then join me at the hospital." He commanded.

"Hai Katsu-sama." She answered respectfully.

He grinned, than left. She dropped the pathetic pose as soon as he was gone.

"What was that all about?" Kakashi asked.

"They are going to unseal me to deal with my pregnancy. I am trying to earn his trust so he won't reseal me. Don't think I am enjoying doing this." She answered.

"I see." Kakashi might have frowned, but the mask hid it.

"I had better see to the children and rescue them from Gai." She commented.

"A worthy quest." Asuma grinned.

She left out the back and then collapsed against the wall in laughter. Asuma and Kakashi ran to see what was wrong. Asuma joined her in helpless laughter; Kakashi had his eyes wide open in shock.

Gai was coated in mud and was running from a hoard of children throwing mud balls at him, shouting how happy they were that he was helping them with shiruken practice.

Kurenai finally took pity on the mud-coated man and went to his rescue.

"Alright everyone." She declared loudly.

The children quickly dropped their mud balls and ran up to her.

She held a hand out to stop them.

"I don't think Katsu-sama would appreciate it if I got this expensive gown he bought me coated in mud." She stated calmly.

The children and one mud coated Inu came to a stop before her.

"Ohayo, Kurenai-sensei." They greeted her cheerfully.

"You are all coated in mud. I can't let any of you back in the hotel until we get most of it off. Kiri-chan, get the hose." Kurenai commanded.

"Hai." Kiri saluted and ran to get the hose.

"Gai, for kami sake get over here." She commanded.

Gai timidly joined her as if expecting the children to ambush him at any moment.

"Arigato Kiri-chan." Kurenai thanked as the girl handed the hose to her.

Kurenai checked to make sure the water was on first.

"Alright, we are going to need to get all of this mud off. Everyone grab a bucket." She commanded.

Everyone grabbed a bucket and lined up before her. She filled each bucket up with water just as the first patters of rain hit.

"Alright everyone. The last one clean wins. You objective is to not get wet. And I get the hose." She grinned as she turned to Gai and sprayed him.

"Traitor." He cried as the children ran after him with buckets of water.

Kurenai refilled the buckets of water, as the kids needed it, occasionally getting one who was still rather dirty with the hose. By the time the light drizzle turned into a downpour, everyone was soaking wet, excluding her. Asuma had brought out an umbrella and was holding it over her so she wouldn't get wet. She offered him a slight smile of appreciation before getting a muddy Kento with the hose.

The rain was coming down in sheets before everyone was cleaned of mud. Gai returned to the house to take a shower and Kurenai made sure everyone got a warm bath and were nestled into new, clean clothes with tea to stave off possible colds. Last thing she wanted was a horde of sick kids.

Those who had lost the water fight were set to doing laundry. The others got to clean the dripped water off of the floor with towels while Kiri and Kento took charge of making lunch, having won the match.

By noon everyone was eating and Geki came over to watch them with the three men. Geki handed her an umbrella and led her to the hospital to make sure she got there uninterrupted. The men Yashero had left behind had been becoming a problem recently and Katsu didn't want to take any chances with her in her current condition.

Alara and Katsu's men were constantly having to watch Yashero's and had rescued many civilians from them already. Rumour had it that the rest of Yashero's men, save those watching the estate giving to him, were going to be sent ahead to join him on his hunt. Some of Kenari's shinobi were still here with one of her lieutenants acting as commander and liaison.

Geki walked her right into the hospital before leaving. She thanked him, folded the umbrella, and left it at the door before walking up to the nurse sitting at the desk.

"Ah, Kurenai-sensei. Katsu-sama said he was expecting you." One of the nurses smiled at her. "He's in emergency right now. Please join Shizune-san on her rounds."

"Hai. Arigato." Kurenai thanked the nurse before heading up the stairs.

She knew Shizune's rounds off by heart having joined them many times. Sure enough, Shizune was checking up on Kiba's sister.

The three hounds growled at her as she entered the room until they recognized her scent.

"How is she doing?" Kurenai asked.

"Same as always, but I found something interesting yesterday." Shizune commented.

"Nani?"

Shizune held up a small needle that still had a hint of something in it.

"What is it?" Kurenai asked.

"It's a drug used to sedate powerful prisoners. It puts them in a coma like state. When I came in early someone was giving this to her. I tried to stop them, but they bolted. It explained why she hasn't woken up yet."

"Should we do anything about it or let it continue?" Kurenai asked, having no medical knowledge to call upon.

"I don't know. It isn't harmful and her being in a coma is what is protecting her from Yashero, but Yashero isn't here and not likely to return anytime soon."

"But she is not sealed, is she?" Kurenai asked, hitting a sudden brainstorm.

"Iie." Shizune answered.

"Leave her. It will give us an unexpected weapon when the time comes. You said the drug is harmless?"

"Hai. It will work." Shizune agreed.

Kurenai looked at the three inu. Why had they never noticed the intruder before, or did they know something they weren't telling the others? Kurenai tossed it aside. It was always possible they were being drugged in their food or something.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Shizune asked.

"Katsu ordered me to come. I've been playing the good, obedient, house wife in an attempt to earn his trust so I won't be resealed after I give birth if the counter strike happens then." She answered.

"I see. We got a time line to work with?"

"If all goes according to plan, and not a hell of a lot has, Temari and Shikamaru figure they will be back right around when I am due." She answered truthfully.

"I see. It's time for lunch, care to join?"

"Hai, but I won't eat. Katsu-sama probably has that in mind. I think we are using the mirror technique again this afternoon."

Both girls left the room and headed down to the cafeteria.

"You going to be at tonight's monthly meeting?" Shizune asked.

"Don't remind me." Kurenai groaned, not looking forward to it at all.

Shizune chuckled.

"You may like being draped over and petted by Kabuto-sama, I sure as hell don't like being treated like an inu by Katsu-sama. At least Kabuto-sama likes and respects you."

"What's to say Katsu-sama doesn't like you?" Shizune asked.

"Katsu-sama just sees me as a pet, a piece of property his owns." She growled.

"People can love pets and property." Shizune pointed out.

"I would sooner have respect then love any day." Kurenai grumbled.

They hadn't quite made it to the cafeteria when Kabuto and Katsu caught up to them. Both women joined their respective masters side, both accepting and returning the demanding kiss bestowed upon them. Shizune returned Kabuto's with love, Kurenai returned Katsu's with barely held back resent.

"Ready to go?" He asked her.

"Hai, Katsu-sama. It is raining."

"I figured it would. I will see you later tonight, Kabuto-san." Katsu turned to his fellow medic.

"Hai. Arigato for coming in on such short notice when you had asked for this time off, Katsu-san."

"Such is the life of a medic." Katsu sighed good-naturedly.

Hand wrapped around her waist, he led her out of the hospital and back to the hotel. The children greeted him warmly. Alara and her three charges arrived almost right behind them.

Kurenai noticed Inoshi was walking gingerly and winced in pain when Alara held onto him too heavily.

"Can you stay again Yamanaka-san?" Kiri asked while everyone was taking their jackets off.

"Maybe." Alara answered for Inoshi with a smile.

"We'll be really good." Kento chirped.

"I am sure you will be." Alara stated.

"Please." The others begged.

"Alright rouges, you know the drill." Katsu interrupted.

"Hai." They sighed dejectedly as they followed their caretakers to the tables to work on math problems.

They proceeded down the stairs and took their regular places. Now Kurenai could really tell Inoshi was in pain. It looked like just sitting was causing him agony. Kurenai was forced to turn her attention to Katsu as he finished painting Inoshi's blood on the mirror and joined her side.

She obediently leaned up against him as Ino came onto the screen. She was just laying there as if in mediation. Keiji was sitting beside her with Kannon leaning against a post. Both boys were laughing.

(break)

"Not bad." Kannon commented.

The frustrated cry of a falcon reached their ears.

"Hey, I never said this would be easy. I took me three years." Kannon laughed.

The falcon screeched again, but continued to fly between boulders and logs to humorous landing results.

"How is she doing?" Keiji asked.

"Far better than expected. The hardest part was going to be getting her to learn how to release the jutsu without using hand seals. Turns out she already knew how."

"Nani?" Keiji looked at Kannon in shock.

"She said Shikamaru hounded it into her just incase if she ever needed to take over someone who would be unable to use his or her hands, like a prisoner for example, or if she was ever found out and restrained she could still cancel the technique." Kannon answered.

"Smart bastard. Should have seen that coming out of a Nara." Keiji sighed.

"Speaking of Nara's, how is Kageko doing."

"Ready to go back on full fledge hounding mode. I would duck and cover if I were you." Keiji chuckled.

"And she wonders why I spend so much time in the sky. She seriously needs to find a boyfriend or something. Anything to turn that destructive energy away from me and onto someone else would be a life savoir."

"Who would be crazy enough to take her?" Keiji pointed out.

"Hmm, good point. Damn, we are stuck with her huh?"

"So it would seem."

"Why were you guys running laps earlier today anyway?"

"Naruto and Ino-chan were involved with Nikuyaku and I was dragged in." He answered solemnly.

"Really? Naruto doesn't seem like the type to be into that." Kannon seemed shock. "Nor did you for that matter."

"Not that." Keiji denied. "They were just using her experience. Tsume caught us and took it upon herself to do something about it."

"I see." Kannon said untrustingly.

"Nikuyaku got two hundred laps. I just got one hundred."

"Why were Naruto and Ino-chan running than?"

"Naruto decided to go ahead with it anyway and dragged Ino-chan with him. If it is one thing I can say about that boy, he is very determined to become Hokage. Said he was fairly caught and he should set an example."

"Didn't want Tsume to tell Shikamaru and Temari huh?"

"Considering they were the subjects of interest." Keiji sighed.

"Oh?"

"Come on Kannon, you can't be that blind. Ino-chan and Naruto have a contest going to get the two of them together."

"Who's winning?"

"Tied five each." Keiji answered.

"Hmm. Are they succeeding?"

The falcon barrelled between them and landed in a roll of feathers.

"Ino-chan, I told you not to try and fly yet." Kannon cursed.

The falcon screeched at him as it righted itself, then lunged at him.

"Oi. Knock it off already. I told you I would teach you flying another time. It takes time and we will need two falcons and a crash landing place to work with. I don't want you to be black and blue for months like I was."

"Or wrenchingly sick from all the spinning." Keiji added.

The falcon looked up at Keiji with its head cocked.

"Trust me, if anyone can teach you to fly, its Kannon." Keiji smiled.

The falcon chirped.

"Let's call it day than." Kannon sighed. "It is getting late and falcon's can't see well at night."

Kannon set his hand down and the bird obediently climbed up before being returned to the perch. Kannon hooded and tethered the falcon before passing the glove to Keiji.

Ino stirred and blinked her eyes open.

"How are you feeling?" Keiji asked as he removed the hood and tether from the falcon.

Kannon had sat down again and had slumped over. Ino stood up and stretched while Keiji launched the bird into the air. Kannon stirred again once the bird was airborne.

"Don't know about you two, but I am starving." Kannon grinned.

"You just sat there all day." Ino scowled.

"I still haven' recovered from that damn shoulder wound." Kannon scowled.

"How is the falcon doing?" Keiji asked.

"Better. Once everyone had been healed, Doku-kun and Chiyu-chan looked at him again. He'll live, but it will be a while before he can fly properly again." Kannon answered.

Keiji took the lead, Ino to his right and Kannon to his left.

"There you are." Came a commanding female voice.

"And with that the peaceful world we had but briefly discovered was shattered by the war cry of a barbarian." Kannon sighed.

"You say something Bakatori."

"Just how it was a nice day until you showed up." Kannon commented.

"I knew we should have left your worthless hide behind."

"I don't recall you putting much into the battle." Kannon countered.

"Maybe we should just stuff you into that falcon and seal you into it. Maybe than you will be useful and silent." Kageko snapped back.

Keiji and Ino shared a look and sighed, shaking their heads.

"You and Shikamaru don't seem to argue any." Keiji commented.

"We've had our disagreements, but never like this." She admitted. "Are you sure she is a Nara?"

"Unfortunately she seems to take after her mother. We have come to one conclusion when it comes to Nara women."

"Oh?"

"They are scary as hell. Need to be to keep the men moving."

Ino laughed and had to clutch onto to Keiji to stay standing. He just grinned.

"Kami, you got that right. I met Shikamaru's mother once and she scared even me." Ino commented.

"I bet."

They entered what appeared to be an elaborate castle built for giants, the walls covered in amazing art. They entered a room were everyone was sitting around a table, appearing completely healed.

Meiyo and Tsume stood on one side of the table with Shikamaru and Temari across from them. A very large Kitsune, with nine tails they noticed in shock, was sitting on a bed of pillows at the head.

Once everyone had found a spot, Meiyo spoke.

"Arigato, Kitaria-sama, for your aid in our time of need. The food you have prepared before us and the healing you have offered us we have no way to repay you for." Meiyo bowed.

"Just being in the presence of children is payment enough, Meiyo-chan. Seika has long been an ally of my honoured mate and I. Never has their been a time bad blood has flowed between us."

"Arigato, Kitaria-bachan." Uzumaki grinned up at her.

The kitsune smiled.

"The child of my child is always welcomed on these lands, as is Katsuki's Heir."

"Arigato, Kitaria-sama." Tsume bowed.

Everyone sat down and dinner commenced.

"Do you plan on staying long, Meiyo-chan?" Kitaria asked.

"Iie. Another night at the most, than we must continue on our journey."

"You have my permission to travel through these lands of course. It will be far safer then to return you across the river where your hounds await you."

"Arigato, Kitaria-sama. We will do that. With luck those hounds will leave us be with the snow fall."

"Which will be soon." Kitaria commented. "The first snows will come early this year. Mid October I believe."

"Then it is imperative that we secure the harvest for winter. It seems I will have extra mouths to feed." Meiyo smiled.

"We regret to be a burden to you and will help in anyway we can." Gaara stated calmly.

"I thank you for your help, Kazekage-sama, and will take you up on the offer." She returned.

"You will have our assistance as well." Naruto grinned at her.

"Arigato, Naruto." She smiled at him.

The rest of dinner was eating in what appeared to be a companionable silence. The kitsune just sat there and watched.

(break)

Kurenai was stunned to notice that everyone had been healed; she remembered what a few of them had looked like a mere twenty-four hours ago. Everyone seemed relaxed and unthreatened by the presence of the kitsune.

"What do you think?" Alara asked.

"Clearly the kitsune is an ally of the village Meiyo-san's group comes from. Kenari-san will not easily get to them now. If I were Kenari-san, I would find a place to hole up for the winter. Clearly they have no intent of moving once they reach this base until spring and it would be foolish to attack another fortified stronghold. It would stretch our forces too thin." Katsu answered analytically.

"I take it we should be expecting a message from Kenari-san soon than." Alara sighed.

"After she finds a secured location to wait them out. Kenari is a patient huntress after all. She already warned Akatsuki that this would take time since the quarry was smart. Akatsuki does not seem like an impatient group to me."

"Hai." Alara agreed.

Katsu let the screen die out. He was still exhausted from the holding the technique yesterday and from the emergency at the hospital.

"When can you renew the technique fully?" Alara asked.

"A few days time." He answered. "Let's give it two."

"Very well then." Alara agreed as she stood up and stretched, her charges following her lead.

"Have you considered the children request?" Katsu asked.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean what the little Hyuuga girl asked?"

"Hai."

Katsu also stood up and Kurenai joined him.

"I have another mission tonight and won't be back until late tomorrow anyway. They may stay again if you will not find it a burden."

"Iie, the children enjoy it." Katsu answered.

"Very well then."

Alara pulled Inoshi's head down and kissed him deeply before letting him go.

"Be a good boy." She purred before sauntering off.

"Hai, Alara-sama."

"I have a meeting I must attend to. Come Kurenai-chan."

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She bowed respectfully.

"The rest of you may have free reign of the hotel like last time." Katsu declared.

He led her out of the room and back to the house. She hated getting dressed up for these meetings, held once a month so this would be the third. Most of all she hated sitting on the floor at his feet with her head resting in his lap while he played with her hair. The only reason she put up with it was because she got to hear the inside story of what was going on.

The down side was that it was all just status reports. Food levels, water levels, harvest level, obedience levels of the civilians. Nothing of any real meat that could help them was ever discussed. Still, you never knew when something would come up, and the food level would let them measure the stress levels. The less food, the more discontent. The more rebellion from the citizens, the more obvious cruelty coming from the masters.

Kurenai found her self dressed in the dragon kimono with the earrings that matched. It was his favorite outfit for her so she guessed she shouldn't be overly surprised that it was what she wore to these things.

"Let's go." Katsu commanded, already dressed in his formal, head of village outfit that looked stunning on him.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

The rain hadn't let up and she found herself clutched to his side to keep dry. One hand was around the waist, the other holding the umbrella up to keep them dry. The walk was a fair one, but they managed to arrive dry and un-muddied.

Kabuto and Shizune were just arriving, Shizune all but draped on Kabuto's side.

"Good evening, Katsu-san, Kurenai." Kabuto greeted them.

"Good evening Kabuto-san, Shizune. I trust the rest of they day was uneventful?" Katsu asked pleasantly as they entered the reception room of the building together.

"As uneventful as any hospital gets." Kabuto answered. "I trust you will put this week off to good use?"

"Hai, Hai. The backyard gardening is almost done. I think the plants just need to be planted and the water added. The gazebo still needs to be built as well. I understand the snow doesn't come until November here."

"That is true, but when it comes we get lots of it and it gets very cold. They have it better on the coast."

"Warmer weather, more snow I heard."

"So they say. Do you plan on taking time off when you are expecting?" Kabuto asked.

Kurenai tensed as she waited for his answer. She certainly didn't want to see more of him then necessary, but he was the father and he did have a right to see his child.

"It depends on how things go. If all goes without complications, then I will wait until the child is born and then take time off until things are settled down. If not, then I may ask for time off sooner. Pregnancy is unpredictable." Katsu answered with a grin.

"Indeed." Kabuto agreed with a grin.

They made it to the main room. They were not the last to arrive, nor where they the first. Orochimaru and Anko were already there, as were the two lieutenants representing Yashero and Kenari, the first a brainless brute like his leader and the second a wise woman who always had a falcon on her shoulder.

From what little Kurenai had seen of the bird, it seemed extremely intelligent, no doubt shinobi trained like the Inuzuka nininu. The woman was generally quite and preferred to listen instead of speak. When she did speak, it was usually a single statement that was unarguable.

Both had slaves of course. Yashero's lieutenant had an utterly broken woman of questionable age. Kenari's lieutenant had a young man Kurenai was sure was one of Konoha's ANBU members and a master tracker, but she wasn't overly sure.

Since Kabuto and Katsu were both in charge of the hospital, they sat together, though Orochimaru was still to Kabuto's right. Kurenai glanced at Anko and noticed that Shizune was right about her.

Anko looked much better. She was wearing a rather reviling dress and Kurenai wondered where Orochimaru had found such a thing. Very few marks marred her skin and her eyes were no longer shadowed. She didn't look jumpy either, though she still looked subdued.

Kurenai took her place by Katsu's side, kneeling down on the pillow provided and resting her head obediently in his lap so he might play with her hair. She absolutely hated it, and the cramp it gave her side. Fortunately Katsu was kind enough to let her shift her position every once in a while.

"I understand congratulations are in order, Katsu-san." Kenari's lieutenant commented as she walked up to them.

"Hai, Arigato Hizara-san." Katsu smiled at the woman.

The falcon on Hizara's shoulder turned its green gaze to her before returning it to Katsu. Kurenai swore she saw human intelligence there. Most of the falcons and other birds used around Konoha were shinobi trained, but they had the intelligence of a child, not an adult. This one seemed far smarter.

Hizara nodded her head and took her place in at the table, her slave kneeling beside her and remained seated.

"_Lucky bastard._" Kurenai sighed inward.

Since Alara had to go on a mission, though just what kind of mission the woman could possibly be going on was a good question, her lieutenant was taking her place. The woman stood out as much in a crowd as Alara blended it. It was clear that this ones talent rested in seduction. The slave attending her was male picked clearly for his looks. Kurenai was sure the man was a Chuunin in charge of teaching seduction courses to older, female students interesting in learning that area or forced to for mission purposes, but she couldn't be sure.

The two representing members of Akatsuki arrived. One appeared to be a young boy Kurenai knew to be Sasori by Sakura's discription of him and the other still unnamed as far as she knew, though his eyes red with the three-wheel Sharingan identified him as the leader of Akatsuki.

"Let's get this meeting started." The unknown man declared calmly and coldly as everyone found their seats.

The meeting was just as boring as the last two had been. Nothing relevant to help them escape or free Konoha came up. Katsu was kind enough to let her sit normally after two hours; her side was killing her by then. He reclaimed her for the last hour, but by then she was so tired it was almost welcomed and to her horror she found herself drifting to sleep, soothed by the tender stroking of Katsu's fingers on her scalp.

She was startled out of her pleasant trance when everyone started to stand up in preparation to leave. Katsu had yet to move so she stayed obediently in place. The two members of Akatsuki left first, followed by the other representatives until it was just the two of them.

"Tired, Kurenai-chan?" He asked.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She admitted with a yawn.

"I see. Come, let us return to the hotel."

"Hotel?" She asked confused as he stood up.

She joined him, a little unsteady after kneeling for so long.

"Hai. I believe Alara-san had a bit of a fit last night." Katsu answered as he led her out into the dark street lit by the lamps.

The rain had stopped, but the air was still damp and chilly. Katsu took his outer Kimono layer off and offered it to her. She almost refused, but bent her pride and accepted. She had to be obedient and earn his trust.

They met no one on the trip back and it passed in silence. The children were asleep when they arrived and the men, all six of them, were playing cards at one of the tables. All six looked at them in surprise when they walked in.

"Come with me." Katsu ordered Inoshi, walking through the room to the back door leading to their house.

Inoshi blinked, shared a surprised look with the others, then obediently stood up and followed them across the lawn and into the house. Kurenai was sitting at the table looking at the stairs were Katsu had disappeared when he walked in.

"What's going on?" Inoshi asked hesitantly, closing the door behind him.

"I don't know." She admitted.

She was confused as to what Katsu could possibly be up to. Katsu came back down with a first aid kit in hand and he had changed into a set of his work clothes.

"Take your clothes off and stand against the wall, back facing me." Katsu ordered. "Kurenai-chan, boil some water."

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

She found a pot, filled it with water, and set it on the stove before turning back to Katsu and Inoshi. Inoshi was just getting the last of his clothes off and she cursed quietly when she saw what his back looked like. Red welts and fresh healed scabs covered his back and legs.

"Turn around." Katsu ordered.

Inoshi did and she bit her lip to stop from cursing when she saw the rents in his chest that must have come from Alara's nails. Pale scars and half healed scabs showed past abuse on both his chest and his back.

"Hmm, I've seen worse." Katsu declared.

He opened his kit and took out several herbs that he passed to her.

"Grind these up. When the water boils put in a pinch of this, two pinches of this, and all of the others." He commanded.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

She set to work grinding the herbs while Inoshi returned to his place facing the wall. She wondered what they were for, but more importantly she wondered why Katsu was doing this. He had no reason to help Inoshi, so why the display.

Katsu took out a bottle of something and a cotton ball. Kurenai sat at the table and watched while grinding the herbs in the mortar with a pastel provided from Katsu's kit.

Inoshi hissed in pain when Katsu touched the wet cotton swab to his back.

"I should warn you this will sting a lot." Katsu chuckled.

Inoshi opened his mouth to make a come back, but wisely shut it before he dug himself a grave.

The water boiled and Kurenai added the herbs as Katsu had directed. The water turned pasty as she mulched the herbs in.

"Turn the heat off." Katsu commanded.

She took the pot off the element and continued to mulch the herbs in until it became a paste; the starch in the herbs thickening what little water was in the pot. It absolutely reeked badly.

"Put it in the fridge to cool down." He commanded.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." She bowed.

She put it into the fridge to cool down before returning to her place at the table.

Katsu finished what he was doing, cleaning up the cuts on Inoshi's back, legs, and chest. Inoshi hissed in pain frequently until Kurenai dared to offer him something to bit down onto.

"I find myself doing this far too frequently." He sighed as she put a rolled up cloth in his mouth for him to bit onto.

"Kurenai-chan, the paste please." Katsu asked once he was done.

"Hai." She took the pot out and set it on the table.

Katsu took some of the warm paste from the pot and started to smear the foul smelling stuff on the wounds.

Inoshi shivered and goose bumps showed up on his skin.

"Cold." He muttered.

"It will numb the pain." Katsu answered. "Kurenai-chan, put the rest in a container."

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

Kurenai picked up a spatula and cleaned out the pot into a container as ordered.

"Kurenai-chan, hot lemon water please."

She turned on the hot water tap and let it run while finding and slicing a lemon. Inoshi was putting his clothes back on. She set the lemon water on the table. Katsu cleaned the paste off of his hands before wiping them on a towel.

He pulled out several rolls of bandage and bound Inoshi's wounds before taking a step back and packing up his medical supplies again.

"You may put your clothes on again." Katsu commented.

Inoshi wasted no time getting his clothes on again.

"You may sleep on the couch." Katsu declared at he finished cleaning up his supplies, waving a hand dismissively.

Kurenai glanced out of the window and noticed it was raining heavily again.

"Arigato, Katsu-sama." Inoshi thanked after a moment of hesitation.

"Kurenai-chan, you may go to bed. I will join you in a minute."

"Hai. Katsu-sama. Goodnight, Yamanaka-san."

"Goodnight, Kurenai-Sensei."

Kurenai made sure Inoshi was settled down before retreating upstairs and getting ready for bed. She was asleep before Katsu even joined her.

* * *

Rewarded with two chapters.

* * *


	32. Chapter 32

Don't own Naruto.

Chapter 32

Day of Recovery

When Meiyo woke up again to the morning sun, she cursed the damn thing to every hell in existence. Why did she get stuck in the room that faced the East? She groaned as she covered her eyes with an arm and turned over. The bed was so warm and it had been three weeks since she got to sleep in anything resembling softness.

"Ohayo, Meiyo-chan." Came the cheerful voice of Tsume as the girl threw the curtains wide open.

Meiyo groaned and pulled the pillow over her head to block the annoying light and to cut out the annoying sounds coming from her best friend since birth.

"Rise and shine it's a bright new day and we have to make plans with Temari and Shikamaru." Tsume grinned.

"Get Keiji-kun and Zihna-chan to do it." Meiyo mumbled, refusing to move from the blessed warmth.

"Zihna-chan is practicing with Hinata-chan today." Tsume pointed out.

"So send Keiji-kun."

Tsume shook her head, grabbed the edge of the blanket, and ripped it off of Meiyo, much to the girls protest.

"Oi." She grumbled, curling up more and trying to crawl under her pillow to escape life.

"Oh for kami's sake get out of bed already." Tsume scowled.

"Are my charges in danger?"

"Iie."

"Is there imminent threat of an attack?"

"Iie."

"Is there a matter of Seika security at stake?"

"Iie."

"Then for Kami sake let me sleep please." Meiyo snapped in irritation.

Tsume sighed and pulled the blanket back into place before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Meiyo-chan." She sighed. "Ran yourself to the ground again huh? You used what, a fourth of your power, even fighting those two as powerful as they are suppose to be."

"Tsume, I have had the byakugan activated for over two weeks strait, fought ten battles against those damn Ryouken no Jigoku, fought six battles against Yashero-san and Kenari-san, had to summon Akadoku-sama at max capacity, and fight a full user of the Sharingan who was backed by a man with more chakra reserves then I have ever seen before. Arigato I am going to sleep for a few days." Meiyo growled.

"That's why you are who you are and we are who we are. You are the one in charge Meiyo. It is up to you to lead us."

"Damn it I know." Meiyo snapped, throwing the blankets aside and sitting up to glare at her friend. "For kami sake Tsume-chan, I know what my responsibilities are. It's just." Meiyo was wringing the blanket in her hands in frustration.

"Just what?" Tsume asked when she didn't finish.

"It's just too much. I want to live up to their expectation, but sometimes it is just too hard. I want to know everyone is all right. I want to fight by their sides. I may be the only one able to do this mission, but you, Uzumaki-kun, Doku-kun, and I are just putting the others at risk. Our parents have stood out too much and we are hunted. Those damn hounds are hunting us. Once the snow lets up I am leaving, and I want you to come."

"So that is why you agreed to bring Shikamaru and his team to see Seikage-sama. It gives us an excuse return to Seika without creating panic amongst our charges or rising the suspicion of the ANBU guards assigned to us. I do see your point though, Meiyo-chan. We are being hunted, you for your unique abilities more then the rest of us. They couldn't get your mother, so they are after you instead."

"They were never after mother in the first place, they were after me." Meiyo admitted.

"Hai, I know. Mother told me all about. It is your mission to lead us, Meiyo-chan, it is my mission to keep you sane." Tsume grinned. "Passed down from my mother. If it wasn't for her efforts, you would never have been born." Tsume laughed.

Meiyo joined her.

"Hai, mother and father would have killed each other. It's a wonder Hanane-san didn't lose herself to insanity considering the tales she told us about mother and father. It's a wonder they ever finished their missions. And Seikage-sama has just as much right to claim for my birth as Hanane-san. I don't known what my uncle was thinking when he ordered them to marry each other to stop their nonsense the umpteenth time they tried to kill each other to prove who was stronger."

"Whatever he was thinking seemed to work. They haven't tried to kill each other since that day." Tsume pointed out.

Both girls shared a laugh. The Seikage was Meiyo's father's older brother after all and he had been the one to assign Meiyo's parents to be on the same team when they were still fresh graduates from the academy. He had only himself to blame for the problems that team had created.

Granted that team was only marginally worse then Uzumaki Maro(Uzumaki's father), Zenaku (Doku's older brother), and Hatake Yurena(Nori's aunt), nine-tenths of the problem stemming from the first named. Zenaku was cool and collected and Yurena knew how to have a good time, but was serious on missions. She was a complete outcaste of her family, though she loved her younger brother, Nori's father, very much.

"Tsume-chan, tell me everyone is still alive. Please tell me all is well and that we are winning." Meiyo asked, looking out the window to the beautiful rising sun.

Somewhere further east there was a dynamic battle between the invading youkai army and the warriors of freedom for dominance over the world. Seika was on the path of that army and she wondered if the village even still stood or if Ryuukami-sama and her army hadn't been able to hold them off.

"If anyone had died Ryuukami-sama would have let us know." Tsume assured her, though the Inuzuka girl's voice had a hint of worry in it as well.

Both of them had parents fighting on that battlefront. Meiyo had been the only one permitted to glimpse it, and that mere glimpse still gave her nightmares on occasion.

"Well, there is nothing we can do about it right now other then to have faith that they will win. We have a meeting to get to and it would be rude to keep our benefactors waiting." Tsume smiled at her.

"Tsume-chan, Arigato, for being my light. If it wasn't for you, I never would have made it this far."

"And if it wasn't for you, we would all be dead or slaves to youkai." Tsume smiled back.

Meiyo finally allowed herself to be dragged out of bed and went about freshening up for the day.

"So you are sure Shikamaru and Temari are an item?" She asked Tsume.

"According to Nikuyaku, they were one step away from being rated R." Tsume laughed. "Ah, now that is the perfect solution." Tsume grinned.

"What's a perfect solution?" Meiyo demanded.

"We need to find you a boy." Tsume declared.

"Right, and who to you figure is right for me? I could kick the crap out of every boy here and men hate to be outdone by their wives."

"Not if they are the type to be dominated." Tsume grinned feral.

"I will have to warn every weak willed guy you are on the prowl." Meiyo rolled her eyes. "I want a partner, not a bed toy."

"Well, that rules out everyone but Keiji-kun, good luck getting him from Ino-chan."

"Oi, we are related." Meiyo pointed out.

"Hmm, point taken."

"What about Nori?"

"Stick shoved way too far up rear. Major lack of anything resembling a life outside of work." Meiyo waved the suggestion away. "We have been through this a hundred times already Tsume-chan."

"Alright, let's look at the other group then."

"Other group?"

"From Konoha and Suna. Free game as far as I am concerned. Let's see. Neji's out since your related and that weapon specialist, Tenten I think her name was, has him locked in her sights so he's off the list."

"Almost a pity." Meiyo agreed.

"Naruto is all but married to Hinata-chan."

"Too wild for my taste, might as well date Uzumaki."

"Point for you."

Meiyo smiled.

"Shikamaru's taken by Temari. I can't picture you with Choji, not strong enough to keep up with you."

"Not to mention I would never be able to afford to feed him." Meiyo pointed out.

"Lee clearly belongs to Sakura-chan, big pity there. Not the best looks, but fairly strong. Sasuke…"

"Way to angst out and has the same problem as Keiji-kun." Meiyo interrupted.

"Right. Let's see, who else is there. I can't picture with Kankurou."

"Kami forbid." She agreed.

"You into older men?"

"Iie, why do you ask?"

"Well, that Jounin traveling with them isn't too sore on the eyes."

"You mean Genma-san? He is old enough to be my father Tsume-chan." She sighed in exasperation.

"Just suggesting. I think that's everyone, no wait, I forgot one person and he just might fit the picture."

"Iie." Meiyo said firmly

"I haven't even said who it was yet." Tsume pouted.

"You were going to say Kiba-kun right?"

"Iie, though I forgot about Shino-kun. I can't picture you with Shino-kun and I didn't suggest Kiba-kun because I as much as I love you Meiyo-chan, I sure as kami don't want to be related to you. My family might catch your families insanity."

Meiyo chuckled.

"I was going to suggest Gaara-sama."

"Gaara-sama?"

"Hai. He's strong, cares about his charges, and seems to be on the same angst level as you are. Perfect match I say."

"Hello, he is the Kazekage of Suna, village on other side of world."

"And you are the niece of the Seikage. A marriage would be politically sound." Tsume pointed out.

"I am not spending the rest of my life as some model political wife in the desert. I hate the desert. It's hot, and dry, and treeless. If you are so desperate to get a political marriage, ask Zihna-chan."

"Ask me what?" Zihna asked as she entered the room.

"Tsume-chan thinks I need a boyfriend and that Gaara-sama is the best one for me." Meiyo grumbled.

"Hmm, I agree."

"Nani."

"Out of all the boys here, he's the only one that fits." Zihna pointed out.

"Great." Meiyo grumbled, but she knew better then to argue when the odds were against her. "Just do me a favour and don't tell uncle. He seems good at commanding marriages." She sighed in defeat.

"Now that Meiyo-chan's target is picked out, what about you Tsume-chan?" Zihna asked.

"Me?"

"Hai, who could you see yourself with?" Zihna smiled at her.

"Hmm, no one comes to mind right now. What about you Zihna-chan? Uzumaki still sniffing at your tail?" Tsume asked with a grin.

"Tsume-chan." Zihna sighed.

"What about Genkaku-kun or Kannon-kun?" Meiyo suggested.

"Genkaku-kun needs a bit more security and where Kannon-kun is, Kageko-chan is. You can't have one without the other." Tsume dismissed.

"Alright, what if Kageko-chan was taken out of the picture?" Zihna asked.

"Maybe then. He is nice and his trick with using his _Shintenshin_ on birds is amazing, I wouldn't mind any possible children being able to do that." Tsume admitted.

The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter." Meiyo called.

The door slid open and Keiji stepped in.

"I was wondering where you three were." Keiji stated as he joined them. "The meeting is about to start."

"Is everyone waiting?" Meiyo asked.

"Iie, not yet." Keiji answered.

"Where's your body guard?" Tsume asked innocently.

"Body guard?" Keiji asked confused.

"Yeah, the one who protects you from Niku-chan. The blond haired thing usually attached to your side." Tsume grinned at him.

Keiji actually blushed a little.

"Ino-chan is training with Kannon-kun again." He answered. "And what makes you think I have a thing for her?" He demanded with less vindication then he was clearly going for.

"Come on Keiji-kun, she all but hangs off of you." Zihna pointed out. "Every time she looks at you it is with stars in her eyes."

"Every insane woman does that. It's a curse of the Uchiha clan." Meiyo pointed out.

"Just glad I don't got the disease." Zihna sighed in relief.

"No kidding. I don't know what it would be like to be that brainless and I don't want to know." Tsume agreed.

"Why do I have the feeling you were talking about dating before I came in." Keiji grumbled to himself.

"Damn, he knows too much. I am sorry Keiji-kun but I am going to have to eliminate you now." Tsume sighed.

"He was such a good boy to." Zihna sighed dramatically.

"I got the feeling I should start running."

"After what I caught you doing yesterday, oh yeah." Tsume grinned evilly.

Keiji bolted from the room, Tsume and Zihna hot on his heals. Meiyo laughed before joining in on the chase. Sometimes it felt great just to be a normal teenager and to forget about all the responsibility that rested on her shoulders. She truly did envy Shikamaru and Temari, who had each other to lean on for support.

(break)

The sound of pounding feet alerted him at once to the intruders. Gaara stopped his meditation and looked up to see Keiji running past him as if his life depended on it.

"Ohayo Gaara-sama, please save me." He begged as he ran through the room and out the other door.

Gaara looked after him confused, then Tsume and Zihna ran into the room, one with her nose to the air clearly tracking by scent and the other with her byakugan fully activated.

"We are catching up." Zihna declared.

"Get back here Keiji-kun, we just have to eliminate your memory." Tsume shouted.

Gaara was sure he heard Keiji shout back a loud 'Iie' but he wasn't sure. Both girls ran out the door recently vacated by Keiji. Curious as to what in Jigoku was going on, Gaara stood up and looked out the door leading to one of the grass fields to see Keiji being hounded by both girls.

His suna stirred, alerting him to danger a split second before something barrelled into his back and sent him tumbling out of the door to roll along the ground until he came to a stop on top of whatever had hit him, his suna still at the door and no where near fast enough to protect him from whatever had rammed into him.

Whatever he was laying on shifted beneath him and a mumbled, "get off of me damn it" came from somewhere under him.

He managed to untangle himself from his attacker and blinked in surprise when he noticed it was Meiyo. He knew she was strong but he never figured she would be powerful enough to get past his suna shield when merely playing with her friends. His curiosity about her was piqued.

"Gomen. I should have watched where I was going." She apologized as she stood up and brushed herself off.

"You made it past my suna shield." He stated.

"Huh?" She asked.

In answer he drew a kunai and tried to stab his hand, but the suna blocked the attack.

She blinked in surprise before turning her attention back to him.

"Only three others have ever gotten past my defence. Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto-kun. They did it while fighting at full power."

Meiyo sighed, having clearly realized she had been caught.

"You are a high level Jounin?" He asked.

"Something like that. I am special ops trained." She admitted. "Primarily for this mission."

Gaara felt like she wasn't telling the whole truth, but nor was she lying. He decided to drop it for now.

"Why did I have to wait for Uzumaki?" He asked.

"You mean when we crossed the river?"

"Hai."

"It is customary for one youkai to ask permission of another before entering their lands. These lands kind of also belong to Uzumaki, seeing how he is the grandson of the Lord and Lady of this castle, so he had the power to grant you and Naruto-kun permission to walk these lands. I figured considering your special circumstances that it would be better to play it safe." She answered.

"That snake you summoned, it was clear you knew it."

"Akadoku-sama is Doku-kuns' older brother's partner, like Dokutsume is for Doku, only she is still a hatchling. I have special rights to summon him in a tight spot, but I have to pay for his services."

"Dokutsume will grow that big?" Gaara asked.

"Iie. He is actually only about ten to twelve feet long. That was his battle form, a kind of transformation that feeds off of both of our chakra's to maintain."

"What do you pay him with?"

"Cattle, sheep, that kind of thing. I buy them for him out of my own cash, and not the cheap ones either. I am almost broke already from the few times I have had to summon him over the last three months and the summoning is not a guarantee because he will not come if he is fighting with Zenaku-san."

"Doku's older brother?"

"Hai."

They sat in silence and neither one of them showed any signs of wanting to move or to continue the conversation. He glanced over at her and noticed she wasn't dressed in her shinobi gear at all. Just a black shirt with sleeves going to her elbow and black, tight fitting pants. Her forehead protector was not on at the moment. They sat that way for several minutes until Meiyo broke it.

"How long have you been Kazekage?" She asked.

"Two years." He answered.

"So you were what? Thirteen? Fourteen?"

"Fourteen."

"That's rather young." She admitted.

"May I ask something personal?" He asked after several minutes.

Meiyo was silent, clearly considering his request.

"Hai, but don't expect an answer." She finally agreed.

"You are from the Hyuuga clan right?"

"My father is Hyuuga Nariken." She agreed.

"And Zihna is your cousin right?"

"Hai. Her father is Hyuuga Vasin, my fathers older brother and the Seikage of Seika." She confirmed.

"So you are from the branch family then?"

"Huh. Branch family? Well, obviously my family is branched from the main line of the family, but you sound like you are labelling something. Why do you ask?" She asked, curiosity clearly in her voice.

"Where is your seal?" He asked.

"Seal? What seal?" She asked, confusion in her voice.

"Does not the head family place a seal on the branch family to control them?" He was sure he had it right.

Naruto had told him all about it in one of his moments of anger. Naruto was rather sensitive about seals for obvious reasons.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

It was clear she had no idea what he talking about. He decided to drop the subject. He would have to tell Temari about this and let her and Shikamaru do the math. He just figured that the whole curse seal thing must be a Konoha thing.

"Why do you ask?" She questioned.

"I was curious." He stated.

Meiyo did not seem interested in dropping the subject. Anyone other then Naruto would have dropped it the moment he showed no interest to continue, well Kankurou would have pushed a little until glared at.

"Why would you ask?" She demanded again, locking her eyes with his and clearly demanding an answer.

He was not use to this. No one demanded things from him who knew him. Even Naruto knew when to drop a subject. Meiyo showed absolutely no fear of him whatsoever, even though she knew what he was.

Gaara tried to ignore her, but her gaze was too intense. For the first time in a very long time he felt like impending doom would be upon him if he didn't answer.

"You do not have a curse seal etched in your forehead like Neji." He relented.

"Curse seal? So that is what Nikuyaku saw."

Gaara glanced at her in surprise. Meiyo's voice had a hint of anger in it. She looked furious and ready to kill, a look he knew all too well considering he had seen it in the mirror for six out of sixteen years of his life.

Meiyo finally left, seeming to stalk back the way she came, no doubt returning to her room to get dressed for the day. Gaara watched her go, his eyes drifting down her body to admire the graceful way she moved, like a neko no suna on the prowl.

"See something you like?"

"Hai." He admitted before realizing he had answered.

He turned a glare onto Naruto, who was grinning at him.

"Well, she certainly seems to like you anyway." Naruto joined him.

"She is strong." He stated.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "I noticed she was stronger then Neji, and that is saying a lot. I was talking to Hinata-chan and I bet that she would go right through your suna shield with her ability to control her chakra so well."

"Just playing her speed was fast enough to get past it." He agreed.

"Huh?" Naruto looked at him in surprise. "You mean she got past the shield while playing?" He shouted in surprise.

"Hai." He admitted. "Without meaning to."

Naruto stared after Meiyo.

"Who is she?"

"Jealous?" Gaara asked.

"I can still kick your ass, Kazekage or not." Naruto grinned.

Gaara allowed a hint of a smile to touch his face in amusement, not bothering to argue the point. He never brought up the point that he had already been low on chakra before Naruto came to Sasuke's rescue all those years ago. And Naruto never brought up how he had already had a gruelling fight with Neji before hand.

He briefly wondered how a fight between the two of them would end now, but figured now was not the time. Maybe after Naruto became Hokage they could have a match just to see. Right now they could not afford to get hurt and neither would be satisfied if they didn't go all out.

"What is the score?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Five to five." Naruto answered.

While he didn't exactly agree with Temari's way of hunting, he wasn't dumb enough to interfere either. So little happiness was in his family and he had vowed the day he became Kazekage that he would try and change that. If this truly made Temari happy, perhaps the first time she had experienced true happiness since their mother died giving birth to him, then so be it. If she decided she wanted to spend her life with Shikamaru, he would not hesitate to give his consent and blessing.

Now if only he could find someone dumb enough to take Kankurou for him. His older brother was ever a pain in the rear, and his jumpy yet bully like nature had much to do with his annoyance of his older brother. At least Temari treated him with respect and seemed to be able to understand him somewhat, though most of her attention was focused on Shikamaru right now.

"You will give them your blessing right?" Naruto asked.

"Hai." He agreed.

"Good. I was worried I was going to have to beat some sense into you."

Gaara glanced at Naruto. He was smiling and looking up at the sky.

"When should I offer you my congratulations?" He asked.

Naruto blushed.

"Well, ah, you see. There is still asking her father for permission and one shouldn't rush into these things. I mean, I wouldn't let her live in that pigsty of an apartment I own. I will have to save up to buy a house in a quiet district and not to mention how much weddings cost, and I still have to find a ring, that will take a years worth of pay checks." Naruto was rambling on clear discomfort and embarrassment.

It was amusing and Gaara just allowed the boys rambling to roll over him. The boy jumped all over the place in his conversation and was clearly flustered. Finally, Gaara took pity on the boy.

"I would not worry about the cash."

"Nani?" Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"Being a Kage pays well." He stated.

"I won't get that position until Tsunade-bachan retires, and that won't be for a while yet." Naruto grumbled, absently pulling out and playing with the necklace Tsunade had given him.

Naruto had told him all about it, there was little Naruto hadn't told him during his one year stay in Suna while training with Jiraiya, or being watched over by Jiraiya since most of the training had been done with himself and Temari. Jiraiya usually went partying and chased anything with legs when he wasn't complaining about getting sand in his clothes and hair.

"Hinata does not seem like the type who would mind living poor as long as she is with you." Gaara pointed out.

"I love her too much to do that to her. I respect her cousin to much too let him see her living in such poor conditions."

"Neji? I thought he was only her guardian."

"Right, and as her guardian he would kick my ass, or at least try to, if he saw me treating her like that." Naruto pointed out.

The sat in silence again.

"Meiyo doesn't have the curse seal." Gaara muttered.

"Nani?" Naruto asked, confused by the sudden change of the subject.

"She wasn't wearing her forehead protector and I noticed it. When I asked her about it, she didn't know what I was talking about. It seems the Hyuuga family is ran differently in Seika."

"Really." Naruto pondered.

He had that look on his face that meant his was thinking something up.

"I have to speak to Temari-neesan and Shikamaru-kun." Naruto declared. "See you later Gaara-kun." Naruto waved to him as he ran off to find his targets.

"neesan?" Gaara questioned, wondering when Naruto had changed the 'chan' to 'neesan' before remembering that Temari giving the children permission to call her such. Naruto definitely fit into the children group.

Now that his peace had been restored, he returned to his meditation. It was the closest thing to sleep he could ever acquire.

(break)

"_Well, he never said this would be easy._" Ino grumbled to her self as she went flying tail feathers over beak again.

Chiyu, Doku, and Dokutsume were watching her and Kannon. Kannon was using the wounded falcon that Chiyu had managed to heal somewhat, though not enough to fly well yet, while she was using a wild falcon caught by Kannon and brought in.

Their bodies were resting next to Keiji, who was chuckling in amusement at her efforts. Several pillows had been set around two perch so when she missed or fell she wouldn't hurt herself of the falcon she was using.

She righted herself and fluttered back up to the perch where Kannon had landed gracefully, even if he was using a wondered bird that listed to the side due to the wounded wing.

She glared at him as if daring him to mock her before watching him carefully as he took off and glided gracefully to the other side to land on the perch.

"He goes slower then me. Must be my speed." She figured.

She took off and glided towards the other perch, this time angling her wings in such a way that they were releasing as much air as capturing so she was flying slower. Her talons bit into the perch and she came to a stop, fluttering her wings a bit to gain her balance, but not falling all over the place. Her audience applauded her feat.

She chirped in pleasure and spread her wings in a mock bow. Beside her Kannon chirped in amusement before taking off to land on the other side. Having figured the trick out, she found herself making more graceful landings until she was able to land properly most of the time and slightly off balance the rest of the time.

Kannon flew his bird back to Chiyu, who took the tethers in her hand and put the hood back on, before returning to his body.

"Let's call it a day Ino-chan." Kannon called.

Ino screeched in agreement, using the code of "hai" before returning to her own body. The falcon, now free, looked around in confusion before taking off and returning to the sky.

Kannon took his bird from Chiyu and thanked her before joining Ino and Keiji. The three of them left to find a good place for the next task of the day. They found a room with no windows, and set the falcon on a perch. Ino and Keiji took a step back and made sure the door was closed before Kannon removed the birds hood and quickly stepped back before it could take a chunk from his arm.

The falcon blinked its eyes to adjust them, than looked at them, showing no signs of fear whatsoever.

"What do you think?" Keiji asked. "Hunter trained maybe?"

"Maybe." Kannon agreed. "But he had no tag. Maybe he was raised in rehabilitation from a previous wound or found as a chick then released. It would explain his absence of fear."

"This far from any city or village?" Ino asked surprised.

"Not too far for a falcon. And there could be human settlements around for all we know. We never travel further then the patrol lines from the sanctuary. Could be a village one days flight away for all we know." Kannon pointed out.

"What are you thinking Kannon-kun?" Keiji asked.

"I am thinking I should try and train him."

The falcon looked like it scoffed and turned its head to the side.

"I don't think he likes the idea." Keiji chuckled.

Kannon on the other hand was frowning.

"What is it?" Ino asked.

"I was just thinking, through out our entire trek here Kenari-san and Yashero-san have always been able to find us, and despite the disturbances we have been making, I was always able to find a falcon to use for my _Shintenshin_."

"So?" Ino asked.

"Falcons are not all that common." Keiji caught on, now looking at the bird that seemed to be studying them. "You think this might be one of Kenari-san's eyes?" Keiji asked.

"It is possible. She uses inu, why not falcons?"

Kannon dug into his pouch and took out piece of rabbit meat still on its leg bone.

"Ewe, Kannon-kun, why in the seven hells would you carry that around." Ino demanded.

"In case if I need to use a body for an extended period of time and don't have time to hunt." Kannon answered. "And as a bribe for Dokutsume."

He walked slowly up to the falcon, which continued to follow him with his gaze. He slowly extended the meat. The falcon looked at him, then gingerly took the meat out of his hand and started to eat.

"You are smarter then you look, aren't you?" Kannon asked.

The bird ignored him in favour of the meal, cleaning the bone dry before cleaning his talons. Hesitantly, Kannon reached to stroke the bird's breast feathers.

"If that thing takes your hand off, don't blame me." Keiji warned.

The falcon stopped what it was doing to look at him. Ever so slowly Kannon began to stroke the birds breast feather before moving to scratch the top of its head. He held out his gloved hand and the falcon looked at it, then to him, the stepped onto the glove.

"My name is Kannon, what's is your name?" He asked. The falcon looked around the room, than fluttered to land on a table.

They looked at him in surprise as the bird used his beak to take the lid off of the ink jar, dipped a talon in, than proceeded to write on the table.

"Do falcon's normally do that?" Ino asked.

"Only those Shinobi trained, but they have the minds of children. This one is smarter." Keiji answered.

The three of them walked up to the table where the falcon had writing in clear kanji.

"Talon huh. Nice name." Kannon smiled at the bird. "You are one of Kenari-san's scouts, am I right?"

The falcon screeched at him in clear affirmative and defiant manner.

"Easy, we have no plans on hurting you. But if you were one of Kenari's why did they attack us?" Kannon asked in confusion.

"Probably because they knew something was wrong when he left his post." Keiji guessed. "Not to mention started screeching."

"Shikamaru-kun and Temari need to know about this." Ino stated.

"Hai, as do Meiyo-chan and Zihna-chan. They should be in that meeting right now." Keiji added.

"Go." Kannon ordered.

"Right."

Keiji bolted out of the room. The moment the door was open Talon took off.

"Damn." Kannon cursed as the bird darted out of the door, knocking him aside with his wings on the way out.

Ino didn't even hesitate. She bolted after the bird, knowing that it could not escape to lead Kenari to them. The bird was fast and she was barely able to keep up as they raced around corners until the finally came to an open window.

"Shit." She cursed as Talon flew out.

Talon could not escape so she did the only thing she could think of at the moment. She slumped to the floor.

In the air Talon cried out in victory, then wobbled in the air.

"_Glide, glide, glide, glide._" Ino thought over and over as she forced the wings to catch the air current and soar.

She turned the bird about until she was circling the entire estate, which was a big enough circle not to make her dizzy. Below her she could see Kannon and the others running outside.

Someone threw a kunai at her and she nearly lost control while dodging it, screeching in anger at whoever it was while fighting for control. With one wing wounded, it was very difficult to keep straight.

"_Kannon-kun, help me._" She mentally cried.

Below he she could see that Meiyo, Shikamaru, Temari, Keiji and Kannon were speaking to each other quickly.

She was getting tired and her wounded wing was starting to hurt. A raven fluttered up in the air to fly next to her cawing at her and flapping around her. She screeched at it in annoyance, vowing to kill the damn thing when she got out of this mess.

The raven stopped cawing and fluttered below her in total un-raven like behaviour.

"_Kannon_." She realized.

Kannon led her lower and lower in a spiralling descent until she was just skimming the treetops. He glided in front of her, than landed on a branch that was wide open and wide. She was going too fast and circled around, slowing her speed before coming in to try and land.

"_If I mess this up it is going to hurt._" She thought desperately.

The branch came up and she made her landing. It was not her best, but it wasn't her worst either. She fluttered for a few seconds on the wavy branch until she managed to settle down.

She was breathing heavily and was utterly exhausted and spent. She had been circling the sky for four hours while they had looked for a suitable place for her to try her first landing. Kannon waited patiently next to her while she caught her breath, then fluttered to the next branch down.

Steeling her will, she followed him less then gracefully, but she did manage not to crack her head in. Keiji, Kageko, Tsume, Meiyo, Temari and Shikamaru were waiting for them at the bottom of the tree.

"Ino-chan." Keiji cried in worry, holding out his hand to her.

She fluttered onto the glove and allowed herself to be held by him as he cradled her in his arms.

"What the hell was that Bakatori?" Kageko snarled at her, raising a hand in an obvious attempt to slap her.

Ino responded by taking a chunk out of Kageko's arm and screeching at her until the woman was deaf and Keiji managed to calm her down again. Kageko clutched her wounded arm and looked at her in shock.

"This is Ino-chan, baka." Keiji snapped. "That is Kannon." He pointed to the departing raven.

Kageko looked at the raven before returning her attention to Ino, who was still breathing heavily and glaring at her as if daring the shinobi to try and hit her again.

"Gomen." Kageko apologized, then turned her attention to the deep gash in her arm.

"Let's get back to the estate." Meiyo ordered sternly. "Then someone can explain what just happened here."

The walk back was a fast one and Ino made no attempt to move out of Keiji's arms. Keiji brought her to Chiyu and Doku, who were looking after her body in the medical ward. Keiji set her down and she stood still while he tied her foot down before putting the hood on.

She broke the jutsu and blinked her eyes open, feeling absolutely exhausted. Talon screeched in fury at his recapture before settling down again. His body was just as exhausted as hers was. What she did in another's body was returned to hers.

"Ino-chan. Are you alright?" Keiji asked.

"Hai, just exhausted. My arms are very sore." She answered, snuggling into the bed her body had been moved to with the clear intent to sleep.

"Ino-chan." Kannon called worried as he flew into the room.

"There you are Bakatori." Kageko growled at him.

Chiyu was healing the gash in her arm.

"Shut up Kageko." Kannon snapped at her while he joined Keiji's side at Ino's bed. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

"Hai, thanks for coming and getting me." She smiled up at him.

"Think nothing of it. Chiyu-chan, get me a pair of clippers. I am going to clip this birds wings." Kannon ordered.

"Hai, Kannon-san." Chiyu handed him a pair of clippers.

Talon screeched and started to fight against his restraints.

"Doku-kun."

"Hai." Doku pulled a needle and coated it in a poison before throwing it at the thrashing falcon.

The needle stuck in Talon's breast and he quit thrashing. Kannon took the clippers and clipped his wings.

"What is going on?" Meiyo asked.

"This falcon I took control of is one of Kenari-san's hunters. I thought it was strange I was always able to find a falcon when I needed it and this one seemed smarter then average. We came to the conclusion that Kenari-san had been using falcons to track us and that is why she always finds us so damn fast." Kannon explained.

"It does explain a lot." Meiyo agreed.

"So that was how she kept finding us so fast." Temari looked at Talon.

"How are you feeling Ino?" Shikamaru asked.

"Exhausted, and starving." She admitted.

"I'll find you something to eat." Shikamaru promised.

"Arigato."

"The other falcon you have been using, any chance it is one of Kenari-san's?" Meiyo asked.

"I don't think so. That one was pointed out to me by Kitaria-sama as being local." Kannon dismissed.

"Very well. Rest up than. We leave first thing tomorrow morning." Meiyo ordered.

"Hai." Both Keiji and Kannon saluted her.

Keiji stayed by her side despite the fact it was completely unnecessary. The fact that with her arms utterly spent from flying she was unable to feed herself when Shikamaru arrived with food and Keiji hand fed her was a minor side note.

Once assured she would be all right, Shikamaru and Temari left and Ino smiled when she noticed Temari had claimed Shikamaru's hand and he was making no protest about it.

"_Probably finds it too troublesome._" She chuckled to herself.

* * *

Wow its been a long time since I Updated this. I blame WOW(world of warcraft). Seriously that game should come with an addiction warning in big bold text on the cover.

Well, here is two chapters for making you all wait so long.

Next chapter(hopefully updated sooner, pends on how long it takes it get to level 70): Making of a pond, and complications with the pregnancy arise.


	33. Chapter 33

-1Disclaimer: no ownership of Naruto

Chapter 33

Gardens and Complications

Kurenai woke up to a beautiful day. The rain had cleared off sometime during the night and a breeze of fresh air wafted through her open window. A glance showed Katsu gone. A glance out the window showed him next door with the children, all of who were listening to him intently.

Everyone but her and Inoshi was over there, and that included Geki. She yawned and stretched before getting ready for the day. She made sure to wear one of her cheaper kimonos. She had a feeling she was going to get dirty today.

Inoshi was downstairs, sitting at the table and eating breakfast. She joined him and thanked him as he passed her a small plate of food, mostly cut fruit and rice, all she could eat right about now without getting sick.

"Feeling better?" She asked him.

"Hai." He answered, and she could tell from his voice that he was getting tired of the whole situation.

She silently agreed with him. She was getting sick of answering to Katsu, but she had to admit she had it way better then he did. The only times Katsu had ever hit her was in the beginning, and she attributed a lot of that to post battle stress. A lot had been going on then, getting everything set up to how things were running now. He had never raised his hand against her since those first few backhands. As far as she knew, he had never raised his hand against the boys.

She glanced at Inoshi and noticed he seemed worn out, as if he couldn't take rebellion against Alara any longer. She forced herself to act cool when realization hit her. He was breaking! Ever so slowly Alara was breaking him to fit her need. Ever so slowly he was fulfilling the roles she demanded on him just to get the pain to stop. She looked at herself and realized Katsu was ever so slowly manipulating her into the role he desired for her.

He wanted an obedient woman who was still able to make conversation and was able to think for herself, a woman who would know what he wanted done and how to do it without being told. In avertedly she had falling into the role he wanted her to fill.

"_He had no choice. He had family still here and in danger. In the beginning I had the children to think of, but not anymore. It is clear Katsu would sooner die then see harm befall them. Now it is merely chains of humanity that keep me tied to him. _

"_The children love him and to see descent between 'mother' and 'father' would hurt them. He manipulated me right into the spot he wanted me, chained to him with no bonds other then ones I placed upon myself. _

"_I could try and escape and if I somehow managed to succeed, no harm would come to the children other then the fact that they would miss me. Kakashi, Gai and Asuma are shinobi and would understand and be able to bear any repercussions that might be made against them._

"_What am I thinking? Such a ploy would never work. There is no need for me to escape. Rin and Hiashi must have made it to Suna by now as we have heard no negative news from Shizune or Kabuto, and he has access to all the records regarding such things. Suna will not move until Kazekage-sama returns, and that won't be until spring. But can we last that long, or will we have become so accustom to our new roles that obedience to our masters will null any thoughts of counter striking against them?"_

She felt despair sink in as she crumbled some bread into crumbs, lost in her thoughts and having totally lost any thought of food.

"We will make it until help arrived." Inoshi stated, breaking her thoughts.

She looked up at him in surprise. He had stopped eating and was looking out the window with a look she couldn't quite read.

"Hai." She agreed with him, feeling a little better.

It must have been a million times harder on him then it was on her. He was married, had his only child being hunted by Yashero and Kenari, and was forced to please Alara in every way that went against his marriage vows while she continued to torture him mercilessly.

"When is Alara due back?" She asked

"Late tonight." He answered returning to his meal.

They finished their meal and went outside to join the others.

Katsu had divided the children into their tasks and an adult supervised each group. Kurenai joined Kento and Kiri, who were assigned the task of pouring bags of soil into the cleared areas designated for where the flowers would be planted around the pond and fence.

Gai and his team were pouring buckets of white rock onto the path Kakashi's team was clearing with spades and shovels. Kakashi loaded the top layer of grass into a wheelbarrow while the children under his command smoothed the path with hoes and set a divider along the path to prevent the grass from coming back.

Asuma and Shikaku started on the gazebo with their team, a pre-made one that just needed assembly. Kurenai figured Katsu was wise assigning them to do it. Both were smart enough to read the instruction manual that came with it.

Katsu was overlooking the wiring of the pump that would take water from the bottom pond be returned to the top pond in the form of a waterfall. Akimichi's team was starting on the bridge and Inoshi's team was in charge of clean up, taking the bags of garbage from all areas to keep the workspace clean and emptying full wheelbarrows. Geki and his team helped Akimichi's team for half the morning before heading inside to make lunch.

They stopped at noon, the pump wiring was done, the soil was in the new gardens, the old gardens had been weeded during past missions, the pathway was half finished, the gazebo was half done, the bridge was started and the protective layer in the second pond and stream was completed, a small area of dirt was all that was separating the current pond from the stream.

Katsu called a halt at lunch. Everyone had just settled down to eat when a hesitant knock came from the door. Katsu got up to answer it, surprising Kurenai. His smug grin had her slightly worried and wondering what he was up to.

He spoke briefly at the door before sliding it completely open to let the three women in. Kurenai gapped in shock. Most of the children didn't know who they were so stared at them curiously. The reaction from the adults was considerably different and varied.

Kakashi and Gai blinked in surprise. Asuma was shocked. Shikaku looked no different. Inoshi looked half relieved and half fearful. Akimichi was stunned, as was she.

Inoshi's wife calmly walked up to him and embraced him. He hesitated only briefly before returning it strongly and looking ready to cry. Akimichi grinned and hugged his wife, making comments about how much he missed her cooking while she commented that he looked under fed. Shikaku looked like he wanted to cringe as his wife was glaring at him, hands on hips and foot tapping expectantly before he broke and got off his lazy ass to walk up to her and embrace her as well.

Everyone shifted around the table and settled down to eat. Inoshi's wife leaned against him as if afraid that if she moved he would disappear. Shikaku's wife sat beside him seeming indifferent. Akimichi's scolded him and encouraged him to eat everything in sight.

Kurenai watched in amusement and worry. Inoshi was clearly in a dilemma about his situation. It would be up to him to let his wife know of Alara's condition and his role in it. When lunch was over the work began again. Inoshi's wife had brought a large verity of flowers and plants, both normal and aquatic for the river and pond. They were loaded onto several oxen pulled carts. Almost every one matched the imaginary image the children had envisioned. They squealed with delight when they saw them.

Inoshi's wife helped plant the flowers and trees. Shikaku's wife took over the construction of the gazebo with frightening confidence and command, which left Shikaku and Asuma trembling in fear on the side lines, jumping when she said jump. Akimichi's wife helped with the bridge building, chatting warmly with the children and commenting on how many of them were underfed. The children warmed up to her quickly.

When it came to plants and the basics for planting, no one knew as much as Inoshi's wife. All of the girls crowded around her, listening intently, leaving the hard labour to the boys. She went through the steps of replanting slowly and with demonstration, placing each of the potted plants where they would go before they actually started to replant, the men moved the heavier ones and replanted those under her stern supervision.

Around mid noon everyone was distracted with his or her work. Kurenai glanced around to gage how everyone was handling the noon heat while wiping sweat from her brow. She was covered in planting soil, sweating like a pig, and feeling better then she had in a very long while.

Everyone seemed to be handling the heat fine. Geki's group had been assigned to keep everyone supplied with water. She frowned when she noticed Inoshi and his wife were missing. She spotted them off to the side. It was clear he had taken this time of distraction to let her know everything that had happened and was happening.

She noticed Akimichi was talking warmly with his wife. Unlike the others he had no bad news to share. Shikaku looked like he was looking for a way to escape the interrogation of his own wife with little to no success. She really was a scary woman.

Much of the yard work was finished. The gazebo was finished construction, the flowers and trees were all planted and the children were hauling water to water them, the pond and river were filled and was now flowing freely. The gravel path was finished and all that was left was the bridge and to paint the gazebo.

Katsu called a halt for the day and everyone retreated to get cleaned up, the children to the hotel under the supervision of Geki, Gai, Kakashi and Asuma. The rest of the adults returned to the house.

Kurenai followed Katsu to their room, stripping out of her dirty Kimono without a second thought and grabbing a fresh one. Everyone was dirty but there was only so much hot water. The result was shared showers.

There wasn't a lot of room in the shower. That didn't seem to bother Katsu at all. He took the side of the showerhead and used his body to shield her from the torrent of water so she wasn't getting in the face as she was facing him. She kept her eyes averted to the side.

He took her chin in hand and tilted her head back. She looked anywhere but his eyes, not wanting to see the satisfaction in them attributed to her obedience. He closed the distance between them, pinning her against the wall and claiming her mouth with his own.

She felt a hint of fear, but that was all. She was use to being pinned by him; she knew he would not hurt her. She returned his kiss and rested her hands on his waist. She was beyond stunned when he took things a step further.

His kisses grew more demanding and hungry. His hands moved down to her waist to hold her steady. She gasped in surprise, but didn't protest. She sure as hell didn't want anyone to come running to her rescue when she was in this position.

She closed her eyes and rode the storm to the other side. It wasn't in anyway painful, just awkward and unexpected. She should have seen it coming considering that he hadn't touched her since the night of her conception.

He rested against her, placing sedated kisses on her neck before taking a step back and continued with cleaning the dirt off of him. She took a moment to regain her composure before following his example.

Both stepped out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed in silence. They passed the shower onto the next couple and she briefly wondered if the others would take that one moment of private time together to express their love for each other.

Katsu had made sure everyone had fresh, clean clothes to change into and the dirty ones were thrown into the washer and started in hopes they would be done before everyone had to leave.

The children were all squeaky clean by the time they made it back to the hotel. One glance at Inoshi, Shikaku, and Akimichi showed that her suspicions on what they would do with their few, precious seconds of free time had been very accurate. No wonder Katsu had permitted them to clean up at the house. They would never have dared to express their love if they feared the children would catch them.

Katsu's foresight and generosity warmed her and alarmed her all at the same time. She knew she would be asked to repay him for his efforts and she knew she would agree with whatever payment he demanded of her.

It ashamed her to no end. She would do whatever he demanded of her just because she knew that if she did, he would do something nice for her again. Like a well trained dog that would sit after the treat had been giving instead of before.

She held back the sudden rush of rage and resentment she felt for him. The children were chatting loudly and pleasantly and it was decided they would eat outside to enjoy what they had manage to build.

Several blankets had been set up and food prepared. She wasn't sure who had done it, but clearly it had been done while everyone had showered. She had to share a blanket with Katsu, and was at once best upon by Kiri, Kento and Inuki. Katsu smiled warmly at them, not at all disturbed by their presence.

Everyone was divided up again, the children talking animatedly with the three women. Inoshi's wife was being hit with a barrage of questions regarding flowers. Akimichi's wife was having an animate discussion with her husband and corresponding children, critiquing the food they were eating and naming every spice used with amazing accuracy.

Shikaku's wife was having an interesting conversation about rising deer with some of the children, who questioned both her and her husband the entire time about the subject.

Gai was having a wonderful time going on about the amazing spirit of youth and how they accomplished so much work today because of it. Of course no one was paying attention and Gai all but died when he asked Kakashi to confirm something he had said, which was shot down by Kakashi stating 'I'm sorry, did you say something?'

Asuma was having a far easier time with Geki and their group, who was going on about shiruken throwing techniques that somehow turned into brawling at one point.

"Kurenai-sensei, can I look at the baby with my byakugan?" Kiri asked hesitantly.

"Hai, but I don't think there is much to see right now." Kurenai agreed.

Kiri didn't seem deterred as she activated it and stared at her with intense concentration.

"See anything?" Kento asked impatiently and jealously.

"Iie." Kiri finally admitted after a minute or two, seeming very disappointed.

"You will see more when the baby grows some more." Katsu assured her with a smile.

Kiri smiled back and set into her meal.

Kurenai never ceased to be amazed at his ability to handle children. No matter how much she hated him, no matter how much she despised him, she knew that if Shikamaru and Temari failed and should she remain enslaved to him for the rest of her life, he would love and care for any child she was forced to bare for him.

Unlike Inoshi and Alara or Anko and Orochimaru, she knew that their children would never be abused or be shown anything other then love and a firm, yet gentle hand. She had no doubt that these children under their care would be raised as if they were his own.

When dinner was finished the children ran off to play, leaving the adults to themselves. Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, and Geki took care of clean up. Inoshi, Shikaku, Akimichi and their wives were giving permission to do as they pleased as long as they remained on the property. All six bowed in thanks and disappeared to various corners to spend as much precious time together as they could before being separated again.

As for her, she leaned against Katsu at his bidding and supervised the children playing. They were smart enough not to need watching, such was a gift of being Shinobi raised. Still, children were children no matter the method used to raise them and prone to acts of stupidity.

It was a pleasant day and the sun beating down onto her back felt like a warm blanket. Katsu was rubbing her back and she shifted until she was laying on her side in front of him, watching the children with a genuine smile as they chassed each other around in some sort of game of tag.

Katsu ran his fingers through her hair. All was peaceful. Her vision went a little blurry, but she thought nothing of it. She was tired after all.

(break)

Katsu grinned in pure bliss as he let his fingers run through Kurenai's hair. She was turning out to be the most perfect servant and was responding to his manipulation well. He had a feeling it would be a very long time before he tired of her. She was so perfect and was slowly falling into the role he had in mind for her.

He was beyond happy in his current role. Akatsuki was paying him well, he was surrounded by children that he adored and who adored him, and above all he was expecting. He had been the father to many children over the years, but none of his own blood. He had held other slaves he had attempted to breed with, but none had conceived and all had broken too easily and completely. He grew board with them quickly and handed them down the lines to others who might want them.

But Kurenai, she was strong willed and would never break, just bend as he twisted her ever so gently. She still had that hint of resistance that he found so amusing, giving him extreme pleasure as he fed off of her raging emotions. Her body was also pleasant, neither too soft nor too firm. She smelt nice and tasted good. Nothing about her was fake or inorganic. She needed no perfumes or makeup to change her.

He turned his attention from her to the children. They were laughing and playing and rolling in the grass, getting dirty all over again as children were won to do. It was impossible to keep them clean no matter what one did.

Kento and Inuki seemed to be 'it' and both of them were trying to tag Kiri, who had her byakugan activated and was neatly avoiding their attacks. Kiri suddenly came a dead stop.

Kento also stopped and looked at her. The two children shared a look that conveyed a message even he was unable to read and he suddenly grew concerned. Kento nodded his head slightly, than chassed someone else while Kiri came bolting up to him, a look of concern on her face and her gaze was fixated on him.

No. Not him. Kurenai. Kiri's eyes were fixated on Kurenai. Concerned he rolled Kurenai over onto her back and noticed she was looking pale and breathing hard. Kiri finally arrived, blurting her message out quietly so as not to alert the others.

"Kurenai-sensei's chakra is spiking and doing funny things." Kiri reported, worry clearly in her voice and Kento kept glancing there way before tagging someone else and rushing to join them.

Katsu quickly ran his chakra though her system and noticed it was completely out of formation. He had heard of the syndrome occurring in pregnant woman before. It often killed silently unless caught. Both mother and child had their chakra completely drained as it ran everywhere and nowhere, coagulating in chakra clots that had the same effect as blood clots. Usually the woman went to sleep and never woke up.

The only way to fix the damage was to reroute the lines and destroy the blots. He could not see the chakra lines so he would not know where they had shifted to or where the blocks were. Usually a ritual was used that summoned small chakra creatures that did the work, but they did not have the necessary preparations or knowledge to do so here.

"Kento-kun, ran as fast as you can to Shizune-san's house and get Kabuto-san and Shizune-san." He ordered, sitting up and laying Kurenai completely down.

"Hai, Katsu-sama. Inuki, let's go."

"Arf."

Kento and Inuki bolted, Inuki's nose to the air as she traced the scent of Shizune, someone they both knew from before Konoha's invasion when they had been brought in for check ups and other such things in the past, as well as from visiting Kiba on several occasions.

"Kiri-chan, I need you to show me where the clots are. Do you understand what I am talking about?"

"I think so. The little pockets of chakra right?" She asked, her voice quivering a little.

"Hai." He confirmed. "Someone get a pen." He ordered.

By now all of the children knew something was wrong. Someone ran to get a pen, or at least passed the message on since Gai showed up with on in a flash. By now everyone was crowding around to see what was wrong.

"Kiri-chan, I need to you to mark where the clots are to the exact spot. Can you do this?" Katsu asked.

"Hai, Katsu-sama." Her voice was steadier now.

She took the pen and concentrated, her hand was remarkably steady as she marked the first spot. Katsu wasted to time spiking a chakra blade into it.

"Did it work?" He asked.

"Hai." She confirmed, than moved onto the next spot.

Shikamaru's wife quickly took charge of the onlookers, getting them out of the way, before demanding to know what was going on. To keep the peace, he quickly explained. Inoshi's wife took two of the girls who had been very interested in her flowers and ran into the house, asking Akimichi's wife to get some ingredients from her flower shop, tossing the woman the keys.

Katsu ignored it in favour of what he and Kiri were doing. It didn't take long for the little girl to start sweating from exhaustion. She was focusing her byakugan rather sharply to see the clots and that took a lot of chakra control a child her age just didn't have much of. He had a feeling the only reason she was as good as she was right now was because Hinata had shown her how out of amusement and good faith.

He had successfully cut five clots and Kiri looked ready to collapse when Kento and Inuki returned with Kabuto and Shizune. Both fell to his side. Kiri had marked another one and he ignored him until he had cut the sixth clot. Shikamaru's wife filled them in while he concentrated.

"How many more Kiri-chan?" He asked.

"Ten." She panted out.

"Take a quick rest young one. Shizune?" Kabuto ordered kneeling next to them.

"Hai." Kiri released her byakugan and Shizune rushed to the little girls side.

Both were doctors and understood the terrible situation they were in. Kabuto worked quickly, forming several seals before tapping Kurenai in rapid secession, releasing the last of the seals that held her chakra sealed, leaving her completely unsealed.

A little more color returned to her face, but she still hadn't woken up. Kabuto started to transfer his own chakra to her, placing his hand over her stomach to feed chakra closer to where it would enter her child.

Seeing what Kabuto was doing, Katsu quickly followed suit. Akimichi's wife returned, a cup of something in her hand she explained was a high-energy drink that Kiri should drink.

Kiri gulped it down quickly without the slightest hesitation with only a grimace to show how bad it must have tasted. Shizune had restored much of the girl's chakra and she quickly returned to her post, making the clots for either Katsu or Kabuto to destroy.

"Find the bigger and bad looking ones first." Kabuto explained to her.

"Hai."

They were demanding a lot out of her, they both knew that, but she was all they had at the moment. They were just lucky Kiri was here or they might not have noticed anything was wrong until it was too late, and if not for her byakugan and clear determination to succeed, they still might have lost Kurenai if they could not get her to the hospital and into the ritual fast enough.

"Last one." Kiri announced, her voice strained.

Kiri marked it, then collapsed. Shizune caught her and immediately started to feed the girl chakra and offered her the cup of whatever it was Akimichi's wife offered them. Kabuto and Katsu also accepted the drink.

Katsu, more exhausted then Kabuto was, sat back and watched anxiously while Kabuto did a run of her system.

"I sense no more clotting and her chakra flow is returning to normal." Kabuto reported to everyone's relief.

Kurenai blinked her eyes open, clear confusion writing in them. She looked exhausted, confused, and frightened. She clearly had no memory as to what had happened.

"What's going on?" A new voice demanded.

Katsu looked up to see Alara. She snapped her fingers as she approached them. Inoshi looked back to the house, then obediently began to walk up to her.

"His wife is here." Katsu stated to her, than turned his attention back to Kurenai.

Alara looked surprise, but was kind enough not to drape her self over him. Shikaku's wife sent the woman a glare that almost caused Alara to take a step back. He had no doubt that Shikaku's wife would have fared well in Alara's village.

Alara recognized the challenge of course and both woman locked into a staring contest until, surprisingly, it was Alara who broke her gaze first. Inoshi's wife came out of the house to join them, shooting a glare at Alara before covering it up.

"Her, get her to drink this." Inoshi's wife offered him a cup of something that was steaming and smelt flowery.

By now Kurenai was starting to get more sense back into her as her chakra flow, now returned to normal, started to revitalize and reboot her system. Katsu helped her to sit up and lean against him.

"Drink." He commanded, holding the cup to her lips.

"Where am I?" She asked in a daze.

"Outside in the garden. Drink."

"Is it night?"

Now he was worried. The sun had set, but the sky was still a bright blue.

"Iie." He admitted.

"Why can't I see?" She demanded, her voice on the edge of hysteria.

"Your sight will return in a day or do. It is a side effect of having chakra clots so near your optic nerve." Kabuto explained calmly.

"Kabuto-san?" She looked over in his general direction, but clearly couldn't tell where he was.

"Kurenai-san, please drink." Inoshi's wife asked.

Kurenai turned to look in her direction, but went past her. Clearly she was still disorientated. Any shinobi should have been able to find something on sound alone.

Katsu held the cup to her lips again and this time she drank the stuff. Whatever was in it seemed to calm her down and she relaxed in his arms. Shizune handed Kabuto the field kit they had brought and he did a quick evaluation. Kurenai never even blinked when he shone the light in her eyes.

"She will recover with some rest." Kabuto declared.

"What about Kiri-chan?" Kento asked, hovering over Shizune and the Hyuuga girl.

"She will be fine." Shizune smiled at him. "She just needs some rest for a few days."

"What's wrong with Kiri-chan." Kurenai demanded, trying to get away from Katsu to crawl over to where Shizune's voice was.

"Calm down Kurenai-chan, everything is fine." Katsu assured her, holding her tightly against him.

Inuki trotted over to her until her groping hands found his fur.

"Inuki?"

"Arf." Inuki confirmed.

She calmed down a bit. If Inuki was calm, nothing could be terribly wrong. Inoshi's wife handed her another cup of the stuff and Kurenai obediently drank it down. Whatever was in it was calming her down and Katsu vowed to get the recipe from the woman.

Akimichi's wife handed him and Kabuto another one of her energy drinks, which they gulped down. With Kurenai relaxed a little again, he explained the situation to her.

"Your chakra lines clotted up and shifted. Fortunately, Kiri-chan noticed with her byakugan and alerted me to the problem. She pointed them out to me so I could defuse them and Kento-kun and Inuki ran to Kabuto-san and Shizune to get help. Kiri is exhausted because she spent all of her stamina and chakra finding and pointing the clots to Kabuto-san and I."

"What caused that?" Alara asked.

Kabuto and Katsu looked up to her. It was rare for such a thing to happen unless if the victim had damaged chakra lines, which Kurenai did not. There was no reason for her lines to have messed up and shifted.

Kabuto scanned her again, frowned, than did it again, then a third and fourth time. He smiled and looked up at Katsu.

"Check the flow that runs to the child." He ordered.

Katsu did so, than blinked when he realized what Kabuto had found. The child was growing physically normal, but rapidly at a chakra rate. Kurenai's lines had clotted because the child had tried to drain her of too much energy too quickly and had over flown the lines until the streams that crossed each other ended up turning into whirlpools of chakra flow, acting very much like a vortex that let very little escape once in, like trying to force one stream of water to run up another stream on equal power.

It was very rare, but not unheard of. In the few women who had survived such a difficulty, of which only ten ever had and every medic knew nine out of ten of the names, the child they had birthed had been astonishingly strong. One had been the mother of the second Hokage, another the mother of the third Kazekage, and a third who had birthed the first mizukage.

"Will it happen again?" Asuma demanded.

Kabuto and Katsu shared a look. It was possible. This had only happened because she had been restricted on chakra flow due to the fact that most of her lines were sealed, making for less routs for the chakra to flow through. It was like blocking all of the big rivers and forcing the water to run down all the small rivers. Now that she was completely unsealed, there was a far less chance of it happening as the chakra had all of the paths to flow through again instead of just the small ones.

"I will place dampers to help prevent another occurrence." Kabuto promised. "But not tonight. For now, there is no threat and won't be for a while yet."

"What will it cost to get that recipe from you?" Katsu asked, looking up at Inoshi's wife.

"Family secret." She answered, meaning no amount of coin could be offered to buy it.

Alara looked angry at such impudence, but once again Shikaku's wife stared her down before a confrontation could start. She was a very scary woman when she wanted to be and even Alara recognized another lioness when she saw one.

"Geki, get the kids to bed." Katsu ordered, then turned to look at Akimichi's wife. "I would greatly appreciate your assistance."

"Of course." The woman smiled.

The children protested, but once bark from Shikaku's wife had them marching in a hurried step, all but Kento, Inuki and Kiri anyway.

"What should I do with Kiri-chan?" Shizune asked.

"Give her my room." Geki called back from his place at the back of the line.

Shizune nodded and picked the little girl up. Kento looked up at him, his eyes pleading. A lot had happened and both children had responded admirably to the sudden pressure that had been placed upon them. They would make fine shinobi one day. He nodded his head in agreement. Kento could stay with Kiri. Separating them would just bring trouble anyway.

Katsu stood up, and nearly fell over again, completely drained of chakra. Kabuto was also in a similar boat. Asuma picked up Kurenai, warning her before he did so to avoid startling her. Kakashi helped Katsu back to the house.

Kurenai was clutching onto Asuma for dear life, the loss of her sight was clearly disturbing her. She would have it back by tomorrow evening. Alara took her charges and left, hardly giving them time to say goodbye. Katsu noticed she looked to be in one of her moods again and gave her a reproaching glare before they separated.

Asuma had Kurenai tucked into bed by the time Kakashi helped him through the door. Kento and Kiri had already been tucked into Geki's bed by the time Gai got Kabuto onto the couch.

Shikaku's wife had to leave to tend the deer, but Inoshi's stayed the night at the hotel to help calm the children down and mix more of that nerve relaxing concoctions of hers, generously administered to the children.

Katsu was use to pulling Kurenai into his grasp at night, never before had she sought it. She did tonight. Reaching blindly for him until she found him and then instigated herself against him. He had a feeling she feared falling out of the bed or injuring herself while being unable to see. She was not handling the situation well and it worried him.

As much as he was pleased that for once she was the one instigating the body contact without an order having been issued, her trembling and panic worried him and was not good for her. He used what little chakra he had left to put her to sleep before following her. She relaxed a little, but he had a feeling he would have to pry her off of him if he wanted to get up. Hopefully she would have calmed down by morning.

* * *

Only a few chapters left. 2 actually before this arc is finished. Guess I better get working on cleaning up the middle arc and finishing it off. I blame World of Warcraft for everything. That game should come with an addition warning. 


	34. Chapter 34

-1Still don't own Naruto

Chapter 34

Sanctuary

Things would only get more troublesome from here on out, he knew that, yet for some strange reason it didn't seem to overly bother him. He had giving up trying to fight it, or avoid it. It was just too much work and way too troublesome. The odds were firmly stacked against him.

So when Shikamaru awoke that morning to Temari nestled against him wearing nothing but a pair of underwear, he was not overly surprised. Nor was he shocked to notice that his troublesome, disobedient hand was stroking her back and enjoying the contact.

He hated to admit it, but it was nice to wake up warm with her soft skin against his and the smell of roses in the air. In these early hours of predawn before she woke up, it was peaceful and tranquil.

The peace lasted until his mind started working. Gaara's information about the absence of a curse seal in the Seika half of the Hyuuga family had stunned them all, but nothing had compared to Meiyo's reaction over it.

She had been beyond furious that such a thing existed. She declared it a disgrace to the family and Zihna had agreed to every word Meiyo had said. Zihna was the current heir to the Hyuuga family in Seika so if she was furious, then it wasn't just Meiyo being mad at the treatment of a branch house, it was an entire clan thing.

After the meeting both girls had hunted Neji down, using Inuko and Inuka to hunt down Nikuyaku's sent. Where she was Neji was sure not to be too far away. It turned out they were right, and Nikuyaku earned herself another two hundred laps around the complex.

They waited for Neji to get out of his bath before pouncing on him. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation of having both Hyuuga girls attack him, so went along with what they demanded out of pure shock before his brain kicked in. By then they had already had his forehead protector off and were studying the seal on his forehead.

This was how everyone else had found them. Meiyo was frowning deep in thought, her mouth still tight and her eyes still flashing in outrage. Then she had made her declaration.

"I can remove it." She declared.

Neji was too stunned to speak.

"Really?" Hinata asked shyly.

"It will not be easy, and I will have to prepare the proper ritual, but I should be able to do it. And if I do fail, I have no doubt Father will be able to."

"I thought your parents were on the battle field." Shikamaru pointed out.

"They are, but you want to speak with Seikage-sama and Seikage-sama is on the battle field." She answered. "Of course, it is up to you if you want me to try." She turned her attention back to a stunned Neji.

Neji had glanced at Hinata and Hanabi, clearly seeking their input. They were the head family members here and Hinata was the clan Heir until after such time as she was wed to Naruto and stepped down from the position. As heir she had a right to choose who would succeed her if more then one challenger for the position were available.

"Can you truly do it?" Hinata asked.

"I have a high chance of success." Meiyo answered.

Hinata and Hanabi shared a look, the younger nodding her approval. Hinata turned her attention Neji, silently asking him what he wanted. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes that was dulled by the haunting memory of how he had treated her in the past during their first Chuunin exam when he had done everything in his power to crush her. Now she had that same power over him. With a single word she could crush that little bud of hope that he would be free of the damn seal.

But Hinata was not cruel by any stretch of the imagination, though she did make a show of thinking about it deeply and holding him in gut wrenching suspense as petty revenge for what he had done to her that day.

"I would be greatly appreciated if you could, Meiyo-san." Hinata smiled at Meiyo.

Neji visibly relaxed, then jumped and yelped in shock as Nikuyaku jogged past him, having slapped his rear on the way by. Her second pass was intercepted by a few well-placed shiruken in her hand, compliments of a very pissed off Tenten. She didn't try again after that.

So it had been agreed that Meiyo would attempt to remove the seal once they made it to the base, which would be sometime later tonight.

Temari shifted against him and he broke his thought off from brooding about yesterday and all the weirdness that had gone on, Gaara's sudden interest in Meiyo among it.

Naruto had explained how Meiyo had made it past Gaara's suna shield while merely playing. That had stunned Shikamaru and he vowed to investigate further into it. The more they learned about Meiyo, the more powerful she seemed to grow. It would be no easy task to break the seal on Neji's forehead, nor was it at all easy to get past Gaara's suna shield, let alone while merely playing.

The other thing that interest Gaara about her, according to Naruto anyways, was that she was clearly strong enough to fight him evenly and she had absolutely no fear of him whatsoever, even after seeing what he could do with his suna. This, of course, piqued his curiosity.

"What time is it?" Temari mumbled sleepily.

"About five thirty." He answered. "We have to get up in fifteen minutes."

"Don't want to." She mumbled.

She shifted and nestled closer against him, mumbling something about how cold it was. They would have to get up soon and prepare for the daylong journey it was going to take them to get to the base. As much as he hated to admit it, he would have preferred to stay in bed, even with Temari all but curled up under him in her desperate attempt to stay warm.

"_If she is this troublesome now, just how troublesome is she going to be come winter?"_ He wondered.

What was worse was that he was beginning to enjoy waking up to her in his bed. He never woke up cold anymore and he was finding that he was sleeping deeper. That caused him to analyze himself for a few hours. He finally figured out that the reason he was sleeping deeper was because he felt safer having another person to share his bed. Unconsciously the two of them took turns only half sleeping so one was always alert for danger. When alone a shinobi only ever half slept unless if said Shinobi was completely out of chakra or half dead.

Temari shifted in his grasp and tried to burrow even more under him. If she was this cold now, he could hardly wait to see what winter would bring. He had a feeling he was going to wake up many a morning in a compromising position.

(brake)

Since he never slept, he had acquired amazing patients while he waited for the world to wake up around him. Sitting on the roof of the palace, he had a fine view of the land as the sky slowly lit up. He could see the mountains they would be traveling to and the occasional strip of the river they had followed and crossed. Like Meiyo had said, it cut around in a giant, wavy crescent shape before the trees swallowed it up again.

Movement caught his attention and he looked down to see what had disturbed him this early in the morning. He frowned when he noticed it was Meiyo, already dressed for the day. She walked out into one of the many field surrounding the castle. She held still for at least five minutes before bursting into motion so suddenly he nearly jumped.

Gaara could only watch in silent admiration to her morning workout. She moved so fluidly and gracefully it was like watching a blade of grass being tossed about by the wind. In this dance he could see the pure power behind her moves and knew that she could probably break one of Lee's arms by accident.

Further movement caught his attention and he looked down as Tsume, Zihna and Keiji came out. All three also stood still for five minutes, than both rushed in to attack Meiyo. Meiyo adjusted to the attack so fluidly it was like watching a fish swim through water.

She met all three of them and deflected their attacks with graceful ease. They held nothing back, going full out against Meiyo, who continued to dance gracefully between them in a style that was definitely not the Jyuuken, that he would have recognized instantly as he did have Zihna to use as a reference. If Gaara had to make a call, he would have said it reminded him of combining Neji and Sasuke's styles into one. If he took Keiji's and Zihna's moves and mashed them together, he got what Meiyo seemed to be doing.

They stopped when Keiji, Zihna and Tsume were exhausted, but Meiyo still looked fresh and returned to her morning exercise as if she hadn't just fought an all out war against three of her strongest Shinobi.

Now his curiosity was beyond piqued. He could feel Shukaku stir within him and the desire to fight her, to dominate her, welled up within him. It was different then the desire to fight Naruto or Sasuke had been. This desire was more primal and harder to fight down.

Shukaku snarled in rage at him, but Gaara ignored him and pushed the damn youkai back down. His flare of chakra must have caught their attention for all four looked up at him. He felt strangely disappointed that Meiyo had stopped her practice but before he could begin to analyze the strange feeling, both loud mouth blonds interrupted the peaceful morning.

"Ohayo!" Uzumaki and Naruto shouted to the world together, waking the entire palace up and nearly causing him to jump in surprise.

One Uzumaki was enough, but two was just plain torture. Gaara silently vowed to kill the boys as a gift to humanity for all the terrible things he had done when he was younger.

He turned his attention from the two blonds back to Meiyo, than blinked in surprise. She was gone.

(brake)

Meiyo could have drowned herself in the nearest source of water that was an inch thick. He must have been pretty damn good to hide his chakra from her so she didn't notice he was there until it had flared. She had dealt with enough hanyou's and youkai to read that flare of chakra like an open book.

It had been a mating challenge, or at least an invitation to accept the challenge. She had noticed Gaara's eyes glaze over for a moment and knew that challenge had come from Shukaku and that Gaara most likely had to fight the youkai back.

She was not happy with that. Once a youkai set a target in its sight, the only way to stop it was to beat it into submission or kill it. She had no doubt Gaara would be able to keep Shukaku at bay, but with great, personal sacrifice. The best thing to do would be to let Shukaku out so she could say no in a way the youkai would understand.

"_Maybe I should wait and see what Gaara can do. Getting involved with youkai has a tendency to turn things about on you. Look at Hanane-san. Entered a damn youkai tournament to pay some Inutaiyoukai bitch back for insulting her and ended up mated to Katsuki-sama instead. Granted he is one of the strongest Taiyoukai in the area and the alliance was well worth it, but still._

"_I wish I could have been there to see the look on her face when she found out just what her stubborn, pigheadedness got her into. Mother said it was priceless."_

Meiyo frowned at that thought. It had been months since she last saw her parents, and as strong as she was, she was still a child. Her parents were two out of six of the strongest warriors of Seika, and were never home as a result. It was also because of them she was hunted. They had made many enemies.

"_Mother, Father, Hanane-san, Maro-san, Zenaku-san, Yurena-san. Are you still being hunted to? Was life this tough when you grew up, stronger then all the others? Iie. You are equal in strength, unlike me. Tsume-chan tries, as does Zihna-chan and Keiji-kun, but they are so far behind me I wonder if they will ever catch up. _

"_Uncle, why did you have to put me in charge? Why did you have to give me this mission? Any single team of Jounin could have done it. We could have been on the battlefield helping. Most of us are stronger then the Chuunin you do have on the field. I understand this mission is important to Seika's future, but why did you choose me to lead them?"_

The question would go unanswered, as it had since the Seikage had assigned her and her team this mission. This was the last group of civilians to get to the base. Those who were at the base could guard it well enough and they could always fall back onto these lands if they were ever threatened enough.

"_At first spring melt I will lead Shikamaru and Temari to Seika. But first, we have a harvest to get in and preparations to make. It will take a month, uninterrupted, to get to Seika. This time we don't have the help of portals. Two weeks back north to get around the mountains, a week east through Hellgate Pass, then a week southeast to Seika."_

It would be a dangerous journey, but that was still several months away. For now, she went about her rounds, waking everyone not woken my Uzumaki and Naruto's joyous shout to the world. She had a duty to do and she would not shrink it in the least.

(brake)

"Everyone is accounted for." Keiji reported.

Neji was reporting the same to Shikamaru and Temari.

"We offer you are profound thanks for all you have done for us." Meiyo bowed to their host.

"And we offer you our extreme gratitude for taking us in at our time of need and over looking our trespassing onto your lands." Temari bowed for the other group.

"Children in need are always welcomed onto these lands to seek aid. I wish you well on your journey and luck on your quest."

"See you later, Jiichan, Baachan, Aunty." Uzumaki grinned at his relatives.

Meiyo took the lead as they started southeast, heading right for the mountains. It was going to be a warm day and their host had been kind enough to provide them with a lunch.

Since there was no threat to them whatsoever, there was no order to the line up. Naruto and Kiba were chatting to Hinata.

Ino was listening to Kannon, who had Talon sitting on his wrist, with Keiji on her other side also listening and Kageko following them up with a scowl.

Temari and Shikamaru were walking next to Zhina, Tsume and herself. They were engaged in conversation about what they were going to do when they arrived.

Shino and Tomeo were off to the side together somewhere, looking at every six-legged thing that crossed their path. Tenten was idly cleaning a kunai while talking to Neji with Nikuyaku trailing them, wisely backing off every time Tenten glared at her.

The children chatted amongst themselves. Iruka and Genma were bringing up the rear and making sure none of the children fell behind or wandered off. Chiyu, Doku, Konohamaru and Hanabi were locked in conversation.

Naruto and Uzumaki were making enough noise to wake the dead, making sure any creature within a hundred miles that didn't like to be startled was well warned of the groups advances.

Sasuke and Nori were talking and walking together. That took her by surprise. Hatake Nori was generally non talkative and spent most of his time training. Lee and Sakura were also talking with Genkaku, Kankurou and Choji.

Gaara walked alone, taking up the ultimate rear. She frowned at this. Out of the entire group other then Sasuke and Nori, he was the most antisocial. At first she had tossed it aside as his position as Kazekage, but it seemed deeper then that.

Apparently she wasn't the only one to have noticed Gaara walking at the back. Naruto excused himself from Uzumaki, who walked to the front to talk to Zihna, and fell back to join Gaara. Meiyo watched in amazement as Gaara seemed to come to life the moment Naruto joined him. Naruto talked, Gaara listened, a slight smile coming to his features. Whatever Naruto talked about seemed to amuse Gaara.

(brake)

"So, when do you think Shikamaru-kun will gather up the nerve to ask you for permission to take Temari-neesan's hand?" Naruto asked, completely changing the topic from what he had been yammering on about before.

"About the same time you gather the nerve to ask Hiashi-sama." Gaara answered.

Naruto laughed, though it had a hint of nervousness in it.

"You owe me for getting those two together. Now you won't have your big sister babysitting you anymore." Naruto grinned.

Temari did no such thing of course, but she did care for her brothers, Naruto included. She had become firmer in her demands over the years. None of them were unreasonable, they were just unexpected. Gaara was starting to find it frustrating to deal with her, as he had no experience when dealing with a woman's needs. All right, maybe he could have coped with that and adapted. It was the other problem he was having with her that drove him insane. Her ability to act as a representative of Suna was where his greatest frustration lay with her.

Missions to Konoha as Suna's representative went great. She did her job above expected levels; maybe the fact that the Hokage was a female and Konoha had equal gender rights was a factor. Or maybe it was because she took out all of the stress of her meetings on poor Shikamaru when there, or he helped her cope with it. Those two were scary when they worked together.

"Do you think Temari will wish to move in with Shikamaru, or do you think she will lure him to Suna?" Gaara asked.

"Trying to steal the brains of Konoha huh?" Naruto laughed.

"Maybe." He admitted.

Naruto started to ramble on about the possibilities of which village the two would settle into. Gaara listen with half an ear.

The problem with Temari when it came to being a representative to other countries, especially those with male dominant cultures, was that Temari was strong willed. When she had something on her mind she said it, which got Suna into trouble with a few countries until Baki had managed to smooth things over. Temari would return home in a huff and everyone hit the deck for a week.

Naruto had finished his analysis at some point. The conclusion was that Shikamaru would not live in a place where there were only clouds two days out of the three hundred and sixty four days of the year. So they would probably move to Konoha.

"If that is her choice, I will give her full power to represent Suna in Konoha." Gaara stated.

"Please don't. She will play the diplomatic immunity game and haunt me forever." Naruto begged.

"I'll give you immunity to her if you can find someone dumb enough to take Kankurou." Gaara offered.

"Now that has got to be the most impossible task of the century. I mean look at him. Black baggy clothing, cat eared hood, red face paint. He looks like a freak and has the attitude of a bully. Seriously, he looks worse then Lee use to. No hope there."

Hinata fell back to join them.

Gaara looked at her surprised. Other then Lee, Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru and Sasuke, no one from Konoha dared approach him. Hinata had seen him at his worse and yet she showed no fear of him as she fell into step between them.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, clearly as surprised as Gaara was that she had joined them.

"Ano, I just wanted to walk with you." She answered.

"Oh."

Naruto grinned and threw an arm over her shoulder.

"Ah, what where we talking about again?" Naruto asked.

Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata sighed.

"Getting rid of Kankurou." Gaara reminded him.

"Right. We need to change his whole image. What would you suggest Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Hinata was surprised to be asked to join conversation, but she did answered.

"Ano, get rid of the cloak. And the face paint and hood." She answered.

"Kankurou." Gaara called.

Kankurou stiffened at the summons, but did turn to face them.

"What is it Gaara?" He asked, voice rather steady.

"Take that paint off and ditch the hood." Gaara ordered calmly.

"Nani?" Kankurou exploded.

"Oi, you got a hearing problem?" Naruto asked.

"You want to go runt?" Kankurou challenged.

"Yeah, like the last forty three times." Naruto shot back.

Kankurou grumbled, but did obey.

"Better." Naruto admitted.

"He still looks stupid." Gaara stated.

Naruto burst into laughter and Hinata chuckled softly by his side.

Kankurou scowled at them and pulled his hood back on, clearly sulking. That only caused Naruto to laugh louder and for Gaara to grin in amusement. Some days it was good to have so much power.

(brake)

With Tenten by his side he felt far safer. Not that he was in any danger or anything like that. Just that he didn't have to keep alert twenty-four seven. Nikuyaku was one hell of a stalker. He hadn't been able to move a millimeter without her following him. The woman had no decency.

No one else seemed to have a problem with her, granted he was the only one male from Konoha who had long hair and the shinobi from Seika were use to her by now.

He didn't even blink when a curse came from behind him and Tenten pulled out a cloth and started to clean the fresh blood off of her kunai. At the rate Nikuyaku was going, she would be covered in red spots in no time.

"Does she never give up?" Tenten scowled in annoyance.

"It seems not." He answered.

"Why does she only go after you?" Tenten asked.

It was a good question. He wasn't the only male with long hair. Kannon and Keiji also had hair as elegant as his. Of course, the one time Nikuyaku had went after Keiji Ino had made the girl pay dearly. The few times they saw her go after Kannon had led to many of the same embarrassments as when she had went after Keiji. Apparently Kannon was just as willing to use his Jutsu's on his own team mate as Ino was to use them on an ally.

There was one thing he had noticed about Nikuyaku. She never went after those who were clearly attached already. Maybe that was a way to get rid of her. Just pretend he had a girlfriend already.

He glanced down at Tenten, who was had just finished cleaning her kunai and was putting it away. Well, what did her have to lose? They were team mates and team mates were supposed to help each other.

"Tenten?"

"Hai." She looked up at him.

He couldn't speak. Why couldn't he speak? He was no coward. So why could he not speak?

"It's nothing." He finally said, turning his attention to the front again.

Tenten looked at him worried, than turned her attention back to the lead as well. She knew from experience that if Neji didn't want to talk about it, no amount of prying would get him it out of him.

(brake)

As promised, it was late in the evening when they arrived at the base. A large wooden fence, the top carved into spikes, ran from mountain wall to mountain wall. There was no doubt in Temari's mind that the walls were patrolled and heavily guarded. She could feel their chakra.

They were lead across the river and instantly challenged by four ANBU members. Their arrival was so fast she nearly jumped in shock. Many of the others did.

"Meiyo-san." The one in the lead, wearing the mask of a bird, greeted her.

"Tori-san." She greeted.

"We were unaware you were bringing more shinobi with you." Tori commented.

"Trust me, it's a long story. We have some hounds on our tail. Double the patrols until winter." She ordered.

"Hai."

The other three ANBU disappeared.

"_Interesting. She gave the commands and they obeyed without question. It is very strange that Meiyo is the one in charge here. I never expected ANBU members to obey her without question."_ Temari thought stunned.

"What is the harvest looking like?" Meiyo asked, Tori falling by her side, Tsume still on the other.

"It is fairly large. If we are going to double our patrols, we will not be able to get it all in." Tori reported.

"We have some help. I will explain everything to you tomorrow night. I am expecting our hounds to make a go at our defences soon."

"I will see to it." Tori promised, than disappeared from her side.

They arrived at the wall and Meiyo led them up to the gates. One of the gates opened and they followed Meiyo through.

Temari had expected to see a fort, but instead they were merely met with more forest. Meiyo led them through the gate, greeting the gatekeepers briefly before continuing on. She led them into the forest.

"Where is the base?" Naruto asked.

"We are almost there." Uzumaki answered.

They walked for another ten minutes before the fort came into sight. She wasn't sure what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it. It was an entire city, far larger then any of them had expected. It wasn't the size that startled her it was its location.

The city was not built nestled in between the two mountains in the valley, as she had first imagined, it was not even build on the ground! The entire fort was built in the trees, wooden bridges connecting each hut. Each hut looked like a beehive latched onto the giant trunks of the trees.

"Welcome to Sanctuary." Meiyo smiled at them.

"Home sweet home." Keiji smiled to Ino.

"It's amazing." Temari gapped.

"It took over one thousand years to make it what it is now." Tsume explained.

"I will give you the grand tour tomorrow. For now, I will show you where you might sleep for the night. Do you mind being split up?" Meiyo asked.

"Iie." Temari answered.

Meiyo had most certainly earned their trust. She led them up a rope ladder and stopped at the top.

"Please divide yourselves up into groups of two. The children can be divided into groups of four." Meiyo requested once everyone had reached the top.

It didn't take long for everyone to get partnered up. Shikamaru and herself. Naruto and Hinata. Tenten and Neji. Lee and Sakura. Kiba and Shino. Ino and Choji. Kankurou and Gaara. Genma and Iruka. Sasuke joined Lee and Saukra.

With their groups decided Meiyo led them through the maze of hives in the trees, showing each group their room.

Ino and Choji ended up bunking with Keiji, Kageko, and Kannon. Naruto and Hinata ended up with Uzumaki, Zihna, and Tomeo. Lee, Sasuke, and Sakura ended up with Nori, Nikuyaku, and Urika. Shikamaru and herself ended up with Meiyo, Tsume and Genkaku. Hanabi, Konohamaru and their group ended up with Chiyu, Doku and their group.

The others were introduced to their roommates, all of them Genin teams. Genma and Iruka bunked with the only group of Adult Jounin to be here. The children bunked with the other children in the upper levels.

"_Defensible_." Temari noted. _"Any invaders would have to make it past all the Jounin and Chuunin before even getting to the Genin, children, and civilians. This place is well built."_

"Is everything built in the trees?" Shikamaru asked.

"Iie. The forge, livestock, and the large gardens are on the ground further back. With two running rivers water is not hard to come by. The nice thing about rivers is that they are almost impossible to efficiently poison.

"Dokutsume and Doku regularly check the water we have stored for tampering. We can live in these trees for a month without worrying about supplies. I would like to have a meeting with my other associates tomorrow evening. Can I ask for you to join me later in the evening?" Meiyo asked.

"Of course." Temari agreed.

With the last of the children dropped of at their new home and left in the capable care of the children from Seika, Meiyo led them to their room.

"It's not much, but it's home." Tsume grinned.

The room was crescent shaped with three blankets set on the floor and a small chest containing spare clothes. There would be room for two more people without overly cramping the place up.

"We can get you better blankets in the morning. I will give you a tour tomorrow as well. For now, I will show you the cafeteria. Supper was finished a while ago, but there should still be some food left over."

"Food sound good." Temari agreed with a grin.

The met up with everyone at the cafeteria. The group of weary travelers were the only ones there as everyone from Sanctuary was either sleeping or on guard duty. It was agreed that they would be giving the grand tour tomorrow and rest up before joining the others in the harvest. It was also agreed to stay here until the spring.

Snow was already on the mountains and Meiyo had explained that they would have to travel north and follow a trail that would lead through the mountain ranges to get to Seika. At this time of year the snow would already be on the ground and more would be on the way.

Spring was no safer with the threat of avalanches, but with Gaara's Suna to protect them, they figured it would be safe enough. The weather would also be warmer and the chance of getting bogged down for weeks in snowstorms was very minimal.

After everything had been negotiated and agreed upon, and food had been eating, Meiyo led Temari and Shikamaru back to their room. Genkaku had left ahead and set up a bed for them.

"_Only one huh. Shikamaru is going to love that._" She thought with a chuckle.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she stripped out of her clothes and crawled into the blankets. He looked annoyed, but he did strip out of his clothes and joined her.

She grinned in triumph as she nestled against him. He sighed and took her into his embrace.

"So warm." She mumbled sleepily.

"How troublesome." He grumbled.

She chuckled and moved up to kiss him. He was frozen in clear, stunned disbelief. She nestled back down into the warmth of the blanket and quickly drifted asleep, feeling safe and warm in the arms of the man she loved.

* * *

Go go level 70, and of course the end of that god awful filler. I hit level 70 two weeks after the expansion, but man grinding rep is a pain. Only one chapter left of this arc, then the middle one, which I am revamping cause I don't like large portions of it. Big thanks to all the reviews, they help a lot. 


	35. Epiloge

-1Disclaimer; don't own Naruto

I totally did not realize I had one last chapter to post for this arc. My bad.

Epilogue

The leaves had changed color and the wind had a hint of a chill to it. Sometimes it amazed Kurenai how quickly fall could strike. The children raced around the yard on their lunch break, jackets on but not zipped up.

She smiled at the pond, now completed though the flowers were now dying. Every thing had been completed to the children, and Katsu's expectations. The bench she was sitting on was made from wood and faced the pond and the hotel, now renovated and cleaned up.

The children had been more then delighted to spend a week sleeping on the floor with Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma in the small house while Katsu had the hotel completely revamped and fixed up as opposed to just jury-rigged together. Everything from new plumbing to new paint had been applied.

She frowned as a wave of dizziness hit her before it went away. These spells were far more common the later she was getting into her pregnancy. She had a feeling she would not be feeling well in the next couple of hours, but took confidence that the children would be under Gai's wing next as Taijutsu lessons were next on the schedule and that was Gai's specialty.

Not a lot had happened with Shikamaru's group, other then their arrival at the sanctuary Meiyo had mentioned. Strangely enough Katsu's jutsu didn't work there and they assumed the place had been warded from such spying. Alara and Katsu had both agreed to try and check up on them once a week until they left Sanctuary and came back onto the radar.

Kenari and Yashero had apparently found a place to hole up for the winter and their runners had either been called to the small fort they had taken over, or to the cave to guard the portal. Kenari's falcons continued to act as messengers, keeping the channels open. Akatsuki had agreed that to try and take Meiyo in the winter was foolish so it would seem everyone was going to settle down and wait the snow out.

Kurenai had expected Itachi and Kisame to have returned to Konoha but both of them were apparently still with Kenari and Yashero. She had hoped they would have returned. The children had managed to escape from the two members of Akatsuki the first time due to luck and having been underestimated.

Katsu had made sure that everyone under his care was outfitted for winter so she had no worries about anyone catching the flu because they were not taken care of. That was one big relief off of her chest.

"Enjoying the day?" Asuma asked her as he joined her.

"Hai." She agreed.

That had to be the biggest and best gift Katsu had giving her as reward for her obedience over the last month. Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai had free range of the property, meaning they could escape the horror of being locked into the house and help her deal with the hooligans.

They sat in peaceful silence, watching the children play their game of tag. She allowed a hint of a smile to touch her face when she noticed Kiri had turned off her byakugan once Asuma had joined her. Clearly Kiri was taking her job to monitor Kurenai's chakra flows very seriously.

She felt dizzy again and knew she wasn't going to make it until Katsu got home later that day, when he usually spared some of his chakra to bolster her reserves. The spells got worse even though she was fully unsealed now. She had never had a chance to fully regain her chakra and the child continued to draw large amounts from her every day.

"Are you feeling alright?" Asuma asked concerned.

"Iie. I am getting dizzy." She admitted, leaning against him for support.

"You should lay down." He ordered, worry evident in his voice.

"Iie. I need to get to the hospital. Watch the kids for me okay?" She asked as she forced herself unsteadily to her feet.

"Sure."

"Kento-kun, Kiri-chan." She called.

Kento and Kiri rushed to her side, having already been drilled by Katsu in what to do in this situation. Kiri immediately reactivated her byakugan to act as a warning system and to make sure she would be okay. Kurenai allowed the two children to lead her to the hospital, the world getting dizzier by the second. Kiri offered words of encouragement while Kento led and cleared the way, Inuki barking from her place on his head.

She could no longer see straight, the world was spinning at an alarming rate, and had to rely on Kiri to show her the way and lead her. Eventually it got so bad she couldn't walk straight and Kiri got her to sit on a bench while Kento ran ahead with Inuki. Her condition was too bad for her to safely keep going.

Kiri had gotten astonishingly good at ready chakra flows, though she still couldn't manipulate them like her older cousins could. It was usually Kiri who knew when these dizzy spells would hit before they hit and could get help before Kurenai started to feel like hell. Inuki was getting pretty good at detecting them to.

Someone picked her up and carried her, who she wasn't sure. She felt sick and was glad she hadn't eating yet or whoever was carrying her would have been wearing it. Her world went black at one point; no doubt whoever was carrying her had put her to sleep.

When Kurenai woke up again, it was in her bed at home with Kento and Kiri looking over her. Inuki was lying on the blankets looking up at her with sad eyes. Both Kento and Kiri had puffy read eyes that showed they had been crying.

"What happened?" She asked groggily.

"Kabuto-san and Shizune-san came and Kabuto-san picked you up and brought you home. Then he did something that he said would make you feel better before leaving." Kento explained.

"Here, Kurenai-sensei. Kabuto-san said to drink this when you woke up." Kiri handed her a cup of tea that smelt like mint.

She took the cup from Kiri and drank it all down under the little girls direction. She had a feeling that whatever was bothering the two children had nothing to do with her ailment. They were use to that by now.

"Kurenai-sensei…" The hesitation in Kento's voice worried her.

"Hai, Kento-kun."

"Ano, we asked Kabuto-san if he had seen our parents, since you haven't been able to find anything out…" Kento trailed off.

Kurenai sat up, leaned against the wall, and looked at them. They both looked ready to cry. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, had suspected it all along. She had just wished she would have been the one to break it to them, but she knew Kabuto would have done it in a gentle way.

"And?" She prompted anyway.

Kiri and Kento burst into tears. She took them both into her arms and hugged them tightly, letting them cry on a shoulder each.

"Shh, shh. I am still here. I will take care of you." She whispered to them encouragingly, rubbing their backs to help try and sooth the pain they most surly were feeling.

"We will never see them again." Kiri sniffed between sobs.

"Never again." Kento agreed, tears streaming down his face. "Mother and Father are gone and no one will take care of me when this is over." Kento added.

"Shh, I am here. I will take care of you, don't worry." She cooed, though she wondered just how she was going to do that when she couldn't even take care of herself at the moment.

Kento dried his tears and looked up at her.

"Really?" He sniffed.

"Hai. I won't let anything happen to you. I will take care of you until you are ready to go out on your own." She promised.

The only members still alive of the Inuzuka clan that she knew of was Kiba and his older sister, at least from Konoha as she wasn't counting Tsume of Seika. As far as she knew Yashero had already killed the rest in rather horrible ways best left unmentioned in front of children.

"What about me?" Kiri sniffed.

Kiri had the entire Hyuuga clan to take care of her, or at least Neji, Hinata, Hanabi and Hiashi anyway as they were the only ones still confirmed alive. The Hyuuga clan looked after their own; regardless of position. Neji was proof of that, orphaned even younger then Kiri was.

"I will take care of you until your family returns." Kurenai promised. "And if they don't I will still take care of you."

She let the two children cry themselves to sleep. She had hoped that at least one parent would have gotten away, but fate wasn't being that nice to her. Kabuto would have had full records on the deceased, missing, and enslaved. If he said they were dead, then they were dead. She silently vowed to ask him about all of the children's parents. They had a right to know if their family was still alive and well.

Kurenai glanced at her clock and noticed it was nine thirty at night. She looked up as the door slid open and Katsu walked in, a look of worry on his face until he saw her. He was returning rather late.

"Kabuto-san said you had a dizzy spell."

"Hai, Katsu-sama. Kento-kun and Kiri-chan preformed admirably." She answered, letting her fingers run through both children's hair.

"They look exhausted." He commented, changing into a set of nightwear he hadn't worn in months.

"Kabuto-san informed them of the status of their parents today." She explained sadly.

"I see."

He joined her, shifting Kento more into the center to make room for him self. The bed was not big to begin with and with the addition of two children they all barely fit.

"You calmed them down?" He asked.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

"Good."

Since Kento was between them he couldn't nestle up against her, but that didn't seem to bother him in the least. She shifted against the back wall and moved Kiri to the center next to Kento.

The little girl whimpered in her sleep and curled against her. Kurenai took Kiri in her grasp and she calmed down. Katsu did the same for Kento. Inuki found a nice niche in the bed and curled up there to sleep.

It would be a long time before Shikamaru could get to Konoha to rescue them, but at least she knew that she and the children would be well cared for until then. It was the others, such as Inoshi and Anko, she feared for.

Alara hadn't changed a bit and each day that ticked by showed less and less defiance out of Inoshi, though Kurenai was pleased to notice that the one time he had got to spend with his wife had produced unexpected results. Ino and Shikamaru would both be surprised to return and discover they had siblings on the way, and she had a feeling they would not be the only ones if what Shizune had told her was true.

With no missions and no pressing concerns, many of the imprisoned shinobi were making good use of the time they had with their mates. According to Shizune's reports, not too many women were pregnant with children from the invaders or too many of the invaders pregnant from relations with their prisoners.

There were twelve cases that had been reported, hers among them. At least four had been cases involving Yashero's men, all of whom had been punished by Akatsuki. She had no desire to see what remained of them once Akatsuki was done with them. Shizune had been sick so Kurenai could just imagine how bad it had been.

The deep breathing of the children and Katsu was soothing. There had been the odd night over the years she had dreamed of living in such a scenario, only the children had been hers and the man sharing her bed her husband.

Sleep came to her eventually. It was peaceful and deep. She had nothing to fear for herself, the children under her care, or her child. As much as she hated to admit it, Katsu would make sure no harm would come to either her or her child.

She was right. The joy of full flight was amazing. She screeched in pure joy and was answered by Kannon, in Talon's body. The air was crisp in the winter sky and the world was pure white and clean below her.

She had never seen so much snow before, nor experienced such cold weather, but Meiyo had been able to supply them with appropriate gear. On the up side of it being so cold at night, she had an excuse to cuddle up with Keiji.

She wasn't the only one taken advantage of the situation. Temari, Sakura and Hinata were also making full use of the cold weather, and if rumour was right, so was Tenten.

The ones suffering the most were Temari, Gaara, and Kankurou. It had been beyond amusing to see Gaara's first reaction to snow. He was convinced it was an enemy attack and had acted accordingly. It had taken weeks before Naruto let him live it down

Ino finished another loop of the valley, Kannon by her side. Now warmed up they both screeched out the code meaning they were ready before turning on the wing and heading out of the valley. Inuko, Inuka, and Akamaru's howls answered them, letting them both know the message had been received.

There had been no sign of Kenari and Yashero since the spotting of two of Kenari's hounds. This did not mean that they were dropping their guard. These patrols served several purposes.

The first was to practice working together. The second was to watch out for enemy units. The last was to provide meat for the table. If she thought landing had been a pain to learn, hunting had been rather painful and ended in failure more often then not.

Kannon had told her to expect failure, not even fully fledged hunters had high success rates.

Below her she could see the others spread out in a sweeping formation. Inuko, Inuka, and Akamaru in the lead with Kiba, Tsume, Neji, Zihna, Meiyo, in the second wave. The rest were spread out with Hanabi, Lee, Keiji, Genma and Hinata taking up the rear with Doku and Konohamaru. Chiyu and Sakura were in the middle.

A flash of movement caught her eye. She wheeled about and looked again. There, a rabbit was in a small clearing. She wheeled about twice to let Kannon know, then dove. Kannon watched from above, staying alert for danger.

It was thrilling to hunt this way. It was a rush that had quickly become addicting and she could see why Kannon had never giving up learning the mastery of this technique. The impact of her body with the rabbit, the feeling of power as she took it down with ease.

Above her Kannon gave off a cry of victory. Ino waited where she was, the snow now red beside her with the rabbits blood. Since she was not in her own body, she could not sense chakra easily. As a result she did not notice the other passing by her, though she knew instinctively that they were there.

"Good work Ino-chan." Keiji greeted her as he arrived with Genma. "Neji and Tenten, and Konohamaru and Hanabi have managed to bring down a few grouse too."

Ino chirped as she stepped away from her kill and fluttered up to land on Keiji's wrist. She still needed a launch and was unable to take off from the ground. Genma gathered the rabbit, of which every last bit would be put to use.

Among the refuges were skilled craftsmen who could make a million things out of that rabbits fur, and the bones were used to treat Talon and this bird Ino had named Wing.

Unlike Talon, wing was not one of Kenari's shinobi birds, though he did show that he was shinobi trained. Found caught in a trap and freed by Ino, he had decided to stay and was extremely spoiled.

Since Wing could not talk, nor write like Talon could, they had to rely on Talon to translate and they were sceptical of what Talon wrote. One thing was clear though, Talon had come to realize that he had no idea where he was, or where his mistress was, and had decided it was best to play along for now.

This didn't mean they let him fly free, it just meant he wasn't forced to wear the hood all the time and was actually left free to fly around their room and one of the large cages formally used for the pheasants. Wing was free to do as he wished and had yet to fail to come when Ino whistled for him.

Keiji launched her into the air and she chirped a thanks to him before making her way up next to Kannon and continued in their scouting. They brought down two more rabbits that day, spotted a small heard of deer, one creature that looked like a mule with antlers, and a pack of wolves.

Kageko, Shikamaru, Neji and Meiyo brought down four deer. The antlered mule, latter reveald to be a moose, provided a lot of meat, and the wolves were left alone. They had contemplated going after them for their fur, but they were not short on clothes or blankets so it was decided to leave them be.

Gaara was proven to be most valuable in that he was able to bring the kills in on his suna sleds so nothing was wasted; not even the guts which were used to feed the falcons, inu, and as fish bait in the two rivers. Some were used for other things but Ino tried no to think on it.

It had been a good day. Kannon had already wheeled about and returned Inuko's howl to return to base with an affirmative cry. Ino was about to turn as well when she spotted something far on the horizon at the next mountain range across the large valley.

She called to Kannon, who wheeled about and joined her side. Something looking very much like a black cloud was massing and moving. She glanced at Kannon and both of them shouted out the message to observe to the west.

Below them, Meiyo, Neji, Shikamaru, Tsume, and Temari were standing on the tallest trees and looking in the commanded direction. Meiyo and Shikamaru were looking through spotting scopes. Humans didn't have the vision falcons did.

The call to return to base was giving again and both Ino and Kannon headed it. Those formally in the lead were now in the back and vice versa. Once the rivers and the wall came into sight, Ino released the Jutsu and woke up in their room, opening the window to let Kannon and Wing land.

Once the window was closed, Kannon released Talon and both humans treated their partners before running down to join Meiyo and the others.

"What was it?" Ino asked.

"A flock of crows." Kannon answered.

"How could you tell from that distance?" She asked.

"Experience." Kannon answered grimly. "Crows are the harbingers of chaos and a flock of that size is not natural."

"I though ravens were."

"A common misconception. In some cultures ravens bring the souls of the dead to the next world. Since Raven and Crows look so much alike people often confuse them. Crows are tricksters and thieves and not to be trusted. Much like a coyote." Kannon chuckled.

"Coyote?"

"A small relative of the wolf, but larger then a fox. Fox's, or Kitsune as you know them as though they are not Youkai, are the playful and are often associated with being tricksters to, but a fox won't stab you in the back while a coyote might and a crow most certainly well."

"What about wolves?"

"Honourable creatures, and allies of the ravens. I've seen them share kills and even play. We try to avoid killing wolves as they have never done us harm, not like coyotes. Coyotes will attack anything they see as weaker then themselves."

"You have a lot of strange creatures here." Ino commented.

Kannon laughed.

"Maybe to you, but some of the creatures you have described seem pretty strange to us. I mean, deer smaller then an inu? I would like to see that." Keiji commented as he joined them.

"What's the word?" Kannon asked.

"Meiyo has called a meeting and I have to attend. Here," Keiji handed them one of the grouse caught today, "this is for Talon and Wing."

The grouse was already de-feathers, the feathers would be used for pillows and blankets, but otherwise full.

"Arigato, they will appreciate it. Are we done for the day then?" Kannon asked.

"Hai. Might as well take this time to enjoy being free of Kageko-chan."

They shared a chuckle before returning to their room to offer Wing and Talon their evening meal. Normally Wing hunted for himself, but it was already dark and falcons didn't fly well at night.

"Does it always get this dark at five?" Ino asked.

"Hai, in the winter. In the summer it won't get dark until eleven at night and gets light at three in the morning."

"Amazing." She admitted.

Lights were coming on as lanterns were lit, making the place look like a field of stars caught in the trees. They feed both birds, lit their brazier to keep the room warm, Wing would make sure to keep it fuelled, then retreated to the cafeteria where Choji was in the middle of serving dinner with his distant cousin, Terea.

It was almost as if he had found his home here, spending morning to night cooking and experimenting with the new foods offered to him and the new spices lining in the cupboards.

The food was vastly different, but tasted good. Wheat was the staple instead of rice and that took some getting use to. They did have rice, but that was also different. Still, food was food and the company couldn't have been better.

"So we are agreed then?" Meiyo asked.

"Hai." Shikamaru agreed. "The distance is not far and such a strange occurrence should be investigated. Each of us will choose four others to accompany us and set out tomorrow morning."

"I will take, Keiji, Kageko, Nori, and Genkaku." She declared, having already known whom she was going to take.

"And I will take Temari, Kiba, Neji, and Genma." Shikamaru offered.

"Very well. Let's call it a night again. I understand Choji has been cooking again." She smiled.

"I can smell it from here and it is making my mouth water." Tsume chuckled.

They descended to the cafeteria, catching the back half of mealtime, meaning there was a lot of sitting places. Keiji joined Kannon and Ino, who had Wing by her side and was spoiling him again. Kannon also had Talon and was offering him treats as well.

"_Well, the best way into anyone's hearts is through the stomach._" Meiyo noted.

She gathered her plate and joined Gaara, who had long since gotten use to her joining him and didn't bother to look up at her in surprise anymore. He was huddled in three layers of cloths and still looked cold.

They ate in companionable silence, as they had for the last several weeks. And as expected, Naruto, Uzumaki, Tsume, Zihna, and Hinata broke the silence as they joined them at the table.

Naruto instantly locked Gaara into conversation, just as Uzumaki invaded her. Meiyo couldn't help but to smile, and Gaara had a grin on his face as well. She swore she was going to get those two promoted into a new class of Shinobi. The class of 'entertainer and mood lightener.'

It was uncertain just how Uzumaki's were able to life even the darkest mood, but they sure seemed to have a knack of it. No matter what tomorrow would bring, Meiyo was sure that the mood would remain light as long as Naruto and Uzumaki was around. No one was able to stay gloom with them around.

He had been right about how troublesome Temari was going to be when winter came. He woke up every morning with Temari curled up under him, using him as a blanket as much as the real things.

The cold during the day didn't seem to bother her much. Unlike Gaara and Kankurou, she didn't need three layers of clothes. It was during the night she would freeze.

The braziers in the rooms kept them relatively warm, but they were lit only at night to conserve fuel. Right now everyone was nestled in their rooms and didn't leave unless they had to.

While somewhat sheltered in the trees, the howling blizzard going on outside was still windy and frigged. Right now it was only the two of them in the room, nestled together under the same blanket with a Go board before them.

Meiyo was an amazing player and they'd had fun playing two on two Go games, each person taking a turn to lay one stone on the board. It showed how well a team was able to work together and how deep their understanding went.

The games alternated who won, but the winner only ever squeaked by. His mind wasn't in the game at the moment, and by the looks of it, neither was Temari. Both had made big mistakes they would never have done on a regular day.

"I don't think your mind is in the game." Temari commented.

"Nor is yours." He returned.

She merely smiled up at him.

He removed the stones from the board and returned them to their respective containers. Temari reached over and pulled out a bottle of Champaign. Meiyo had offered it to them as a gift, though a gift for what he wasn't sure.

Shikamaru had never seen anything like it before, but it was good. A wine made from grapes instead of rice. Temari refilled the two glasses they had been using. Things certainly were peaceful here and it was easy to forget that things back home were not doing so well.

"When are we going to leave for the mountain range?" Temari asked.

"When the blizzard lets up." He answered.

"So we still have a few days then?" She asked with a grin that had his back to a wall almost instantly.

She turned about until she was sitting in his lap and facing him. His back was already to the wall so he could not escape.

"Temari…?"

She silenced him with a single finger on his lips.

"For once Shikamaru-kun, just shut that mind of yours down and follow instinct instead."

He was in trouble.

Temari replaced her finger on his mouth with her own. He was stunned at first, than slowly accepted the contact. He felt that strange heat ignite in his body again, the one that made his clothes seem too tight and hot.

"Temari."

"Shh. Just let it go." She whispered.

Her mouth assaulted his once again. He took her advice and gave in. He never knew what his first true kiss would be like, had never really thought about it, but this was certainty not what he had imagined. This was far greater. The image he had imagined was but a pale shadow compared to this.

He hugged her to him and shifted until she was laying on her back beneath him. She didn't protest and the strange sense of power he felt was addicting and pleasant. She didn't protest when he started to devise her of her clothes, nor did he protest when she returned the favour.

Just the feel of her skin against his, the play of her hands over his body sent his mind reeling. As pleasurable as that was, the play of her tongue over his skin sent shivers of delight through him.

He returned the acts hesitantly at first, growing in confidence as they continued. It took him a moment to notice that the pleasurable moaning he was hearing was coming from both him and Temari.

Of course they never took it that final step forward. He would not ruin her like that. Despite the fact his mind was most certainly not in full control at the moment, it retained enough of his body controls to stop him from going further. To do so would be dishonourable before they were properly engaged.

Temari was asleep by the time Meiyo came back, nestled against him. Meiyo collapsed in her bed, clearly exhausted and he didn't blame her. She had spent the last several hours fighting that blizzard to deliver food to everyone so they wouldn't have to leave the safety of their rooms. In weather this bad, only the four ANBU members and Jounin level shinobi were on patrol.

Tsume, Inuko, Inuka and Genkaku came in right behind her, brushing snow off of their cloaks and shivering in cold. Genkaku retreated to his bed at once, shivering with teeth chattering until he warmed up, with Inuka's help.

Tsume spared him a look with a slight smile that caused him to blush, but nothing was said. He shifted around until his back was facing them and Temari was pinned between him and the wall.

She muttered something in her sleep and tried to burrow under him. No doubt a draft of cold air from the opened door had chilled her. He sighed and accepted it as a new fact in his life. There was no escaping her now, not after that. Surprisingly, he felt no urge to sever this relationship.

Well that's the end of the fist arc. I still don't; like a lot of the middle arc and I am debating on trying to salvage it or just scrap it. I can't seem to get the creative juices flowing, even with the new arc kicking major ass.


End file.
